Top 10 Remarquable Facts about Jim Henson

Photo of Jim Henson by AP Wirephoto – Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Remarquable Facts about Jim Henson

James Henson was an actor, animator, cartoonist, composer, inventor, puppeteer, and screenwriter. He was born in Greenville, Mississippi, and raised in Leland, Mississippi, and University Park, Maryland. He achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets characters. Some of his other work include Fraggle Rock (1983–1987); and as the director of The Dark Crystal (1982) and Labyrinth (1986). 

James termed the biggest event of his adolescence, as the arrival of the family’s first television given he was raised listening to a lot of radio. He coined the term Muppets as a blend of marionettes and puppets. As a creator of the Muppets of television and motion pictures, his characters and those of his assistants included such familiar figures as Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Big Bird, and the Cookie Monster.

Let us look at the top 10 remarquable facts about Jim Henson.

1. Henson and his wife Jane Nebel created a puppet show 

Henson began developing puppets in high school. He created Sam and Friends, a short-form comedy television program, while he was a freshman at the University of Maryland, College Park in collaboration with Jane Nebel who was a senior.

 A few years later the two married. He graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in home economics, after which he and Jane produced coffee advertisements and developed experimental films. In 1958, he co-founded Muppets, Inc. with Jane, which became The Jim Henson Company. 

2. Jim wasn’t too interested in children’s entertainment, he wanted a mature audience

Jim Henson Home Entertainment logo by The Jim Henson Company – Wikimedia Commons

When many audiences think of Jim Henson today, they may think of him as primarily a children’s entertainer. This was never Jim’s goal however, in fact, much of his early projects, such as Sam And Friends, were aimed toward older audiences and young adults.

With the immense success of Sesame Street, Jim was quickly typecast for children’s entertainment, which he wanted to avoid. When he later created The Muppet Show, it aired on primetime and was made to appeal to all ages. Jim wanted his creations to be enjoyed by fans of all ages, not just young children.

3. Henson’s Workshop Designed The Live-Action Ninja Turtles

In the late ’80s and early ’90s, comic book movies enjoyed a resurgence in popularity. Thanks to the success of Tim Burton’s Batman, darker movies based on comic books dominated the box office. In 1990, fans were excited to see their favorite crime-fighting turtles on the big screen with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Released at the height of the Turtle’s popularity, the movie was closer in tone to the much darker comic series. Jim Henson’s workshop was hired to design the Turtles, and what they created were some of the most advanced puppetry ever created at that point. 

4. Kermit The Frog was designed to replicate Henson’s Personality

Jim Henson with Kermit the Frog memorial statue, on the campus of the University of Maryland by Mark Zimmermann – Wikimedia Commons

The personality of Kermit The Frog was kind, soft-spoken, and a dutiful leader. Those that were close to Henson have stated this is exactly how he was too. James oftentimes said Kermit is an extension of himself, saying things that Jim himself wanted to say, but would never actually say.

Henson’s team has stated on numerous occasions that he was a man who worked hard for the entertainment of others and was also one of the kindest people who ever lived. While being the performer of many of The Muppets, Kermit was his signature character and the one he will be best known for in his life.

5. Jim was nominated for an Oscar in 1966, for his short film, “Time Piece”

James was also was an experimental filmmaker. Time Piece, a short film that he wrote, directed, and starred in, was nominated for an Academy Award. Surprisingly, in the film, Henson uses no puppets and utters only one word: “Help.” which he says four times. 

In 1967 Henson released two more short films, The Wheels That Go and Ripples, as well as the industrial film The Paperwork Explosion, developed for the computer company IBM. He later in 1968, wrote the television documentary Youth ’68: Everything’s Changing…or Maybe It Isn’t. 

Henson also wrote and directed the television film The Cube in 1969. This was a surreal tale of a man unable to escape from an alternate reality.

6. Jim had a failed series of skits on the show Saturday Night Live

A muppet show by carmichaellibrary – Wikimedia Commons

While attempting to appeal to a more mature audience, James had a series of skits on the first season of Saturday Night Live. The segment, known as The Land Of Gorch, consists of a royal family that resides in fantasy land. 

The characters were designed to look grotesque and were very vulgar and the skits often dealt with alcohol, drugs, and many weird scenarios. The Land Of Gorch has become infamous for being one of the worst segments on the show, as well as one of Henson’s worst projects ever. The segment did not survive past the first season, being canceled by the producers due to the critical backlash. 

7. Henson’s Muppet Show Was Filmed In England

After the cancellation of his Saturday Night Live segment, Henson struggled to pitch his Muppets. Most producers only saw Jim as a children’s performer, due to the success of Sesame Street and the failure of The Land Of Gorch. James desperately began pitching a Broadway show and a weekly series featuring The Muppets, although he had no luck until he met Lew Grade, a talent agent from the United Kingdom.

Lew saw promise in Henson and offered him the chance to make his show in England, to be released for syndication. James canceled his Broadway show and moved his team to England to begin production on The Muppet Show. The show was immensely successful and made Henson, a household name.

8. Jim’s shows have won him Emmy Awards

Photo of puppeteer Jim Henson at the 41st Emmy Awards by Alan Light – Wikimedia Commons

The StoryTeller was a folk tale and mythology-oriented show created by James which addressed a darker and more mature theme. It went on to ​win an Emmy for Outstanding Children’s Program in 1988.

The next year, he returned to television with The Jim Henson Hour which mixed lighthearted Muppet fare with more risqué material. It was equally well-received and won him another Emmy for Outstanding Directing in a Variety or Music Program

9. Jim Henson was invited to perform on the same stage occupied by The Beatles

One of the most popular shows in the golden age of television was The Ed Sullivan Show. The show was hosted by Sullivan when an act was featured on the show, it was a sign of success. 

After the popularity of Sam & Friends, James was invited to perform on the same stage occupied by The Beatles in their first American performance, just two years prior. James performed well and stole the show, as had become expected from him. After his first time, he appeared on the show a total of 25 times.

10. Henson started the negotiations with the Disney Company to sell the rights to the Muppets

Disney Company is an American corporation best-known supplier of family entertainment in the 20th and 21st centuries. Prior to his death in 1990, James was in negotiations with the Disney Company to sell the rights to the Muppets. 

The deal was finalized in 2004 and transferred the trademarks and copyrights of most of the iconic characters to Disney. Later projects included the feature film Muppets Most Wanted in 2014 and The Muppets done in 2015, a television series purporting to document the behind-the-scenes antics of Miss Piggy, Kermit the Frog, and their cohort.