Jim Henson

Directing · 1.9 popularity

Age

Movies

146

Born: September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990
From: Greenville, Mississippi, USA
Website: Visit site

Biography

James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, actor, animator, creative producer, and director who achieved worldwide notability as the creator of the Muppets. Henson was also well known for creating Fraggle Rock (1983–1987) and as the director of The Dark Crystal (1982) and Labyrinth (1986), as well as creating the puppets for Sesame Street (1969). Born in Greenville, Mississippi, and raised in both Leland, Mississippi, and University Park, Maryland, Henson began developing puppets in high school. He created Sam and Friends (1955–1961), a short-form comedy television program on WRC-TV, while he was a freshman at the University of Maryland, College Park, in collaboration with fellow student Jane Nebel. Henson and Nebel co-founded Muppets, Inc. – now The Jim Henson Company – in 1958, and married less than a year later in 1959. Henson graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in home economics. In 1969, Henson joined the children's television program Sesame Street (1969–present) where he helped to develop Muppet characters for the series. He and his creative team also appeared on the first season of the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (1975–present). He produced the sketch comedy television series The Muppet Show (1976–1981) during this period. Henson revolutionized the way puppetry is captured and presented in video media, and he won fame for his characters – particularly Kermit the Frog, Rowlf the Dog, and the characters on Sesame Street. During the later years of his life, he founded the Jim Henson Foundation and Jim Henson's Creature Shop. He won the Emmy Award twice for his involvement in The Storyteller (1987–1988) and The Jim Henson Hour (1989). Henson died in New York City from toxic shock syndrome caused by Streptococcus pyogenes. At the time of his death, he was in negotiations to sell his company to The Walt Disney Company, but talks fell through after his death. He was posthumously awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1991, and was named a Disney Legend in 2011. Description above from the Wikipedia article Jim Henson, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Works

146 films

Labyrinth

19867.3

The Muppets

20116.7

The Dark Crystal

19827.1

Muppets Most Wanted

20146.3

Into the Night

19856.5

The Muppet Movie

19797.2

Jim Henson Idea Man

20247.9

The Muppets Take Manhattan

19846.6

Dog City

19898.1

The Great Muppet Caper

19816.9

Muppet Treasures

19857.3

Follow That Bird

19856.4

The Cube

19697.1

Gonzo Presents Muppet Weird Stuff

19857.0

A Muppet Family Christmas

19876.9

Sesame Street: 25 Wonderful Years: A Musical Celebration!

19937.3

Pure Goldie

19718.0

Sesame Street's 25th Birthday: A Musical Celebration

19937.0

Sesame Street: Sing Yourself Silly!

19906.0

Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas

19776.9

The Earth Day Special

19906.1

Night of 100 Stars II

19856.8

The Muppet Introduction

1975

The Royal Variety Performance 1977

1977

Mickey's 50

19789.0

The Muppets Go Hollywood

19796.2

The Muppet Musicians of Bremen

19726.9

Hip Hip Parade!

1978

The World of Jim Henson

19947.4

Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street

20217.4

Down at Fraggle Rock

1987

The Christmas Toy

19866.9

The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson

19906.8

Sesame Street: Monster Hits!

19906.0

A Sesame Street Christmas Carol

20066.7

The Very Best of the Muppet Show

19997.0

Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi

19838.9

Sesame Street: Learning About Letters

19867.0

Sesame Street Pitch Reel

19699.0

The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years

19866.2

Sesame Street 1986 Wrap Party

20269.0

Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!

19947.0

Sesame Street: Learning About Numbers

198610.0

The Muppets Go to the Movies

19817.0

An Evening with Jim Henson and Frank Oz

198910.0

A Walking Tour of Sesame Street

1979

The Very Best of the Muppet Show: Volume 2

19996.0

The Muppets at Walt Disney World

19906.6

Sesame Street- Do you know where Ernie lives?

1975

The World of 'The Dark Crystal'

19836.7

The Best of Ernie and Bert

19887.0

Sesame Street: Put Down the Duckie

19886.8

Muppet Music Moments

2004

Sesame Street: Elmo's World: The Street We Live On!

20047.6

The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show

19828.2

Muppet Picker Upper

19756.0

The Orson Welles Show

19798.0

Visual Thinking

1961

Out to Lunch

19748.0

Jim Henson: Commercials and Experiments

2004

Muppet Side Splitter

1981

Sesame Street: 50 Years and Counting

20195.5

Jim Henson's Tales from Muppetland

2009

Grump Critic

1979

Jim Henson: Sing-Along, Dance-Along, Do-Along

1988

In Their Own Words: Jim Henson

20157.0

I Love Liberty

1982

Christmas Eve on Sesame Street

19787.5

Sesame Street: Elmo Says BOO!

19976.4

Muppet Video: The Kermit and Piggy Story

19856.8

Getting Ready to Read

1992

Tales from Muppetland: The Frog Prince

19717.0

Sesame Street: Do the Alphabet

19966.0

Kagayake! Gorō Mapetto Geba Geba 90-pun!

1976

Muppet Video: Rowlf's Rhapsodies with the Muppets

19859.0

The Reindeer

1965

Miss Piggy's Hollywood

1989

Jim Henson: Behind the Seams

2014

Julie: My Favourite Things

1975

Alexander the Grape

19656.0

Let's Have the Dam Break

1979

Limbo: The Organized Mind

19668.5

The Tale of the Bunny Picnic

19867.4

The Bob Hope All Star Christmas Comedy Special

19776.0

Sesame Street: Cookie Monster's Best Bites

2004

Joan Rivers at the BBC

2024

Inside the Labyrinth

19867.6

I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story

20157.4

Hey, You're as Funny as Fozzie Bear

19886.0

The Muppet Revue

198510.0

Julie on Sesame Street

19737.3

AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs: America's Greatest Music in the Movies

20048.3

Sesame Street: Bert & Ernie's Word Play

20028.2

Don't Eat the Pictures: Sesame Street at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

19836.6

Orson Welles: The One-Man Band

19956.6

Muppet Breakthrough

1983

Just a Few Announcements

1975

The Very Best of the Muppet Show: Volume 3

2001

Meal Break

1979

Wow, You're A Cartoonist!

198810.0

The Best of Kermit on Sesame Street

19989.0

The Great Santa Claus Switch

19706.1

Sesame Street: Quiet Time

19976.0

The Muppet Script

2025

Big Bird in China

19836.0

Keep U.S. Beautiful

1973

Free to Be... a Family

19888.8

Julie Andrews: One Step Into Spring

19787.0

Muppet Gimme a Break

1979

Children's Songs and Stories with the Muppets

19857.3

The Bells of Fraggle Rock

19846.0

Sesame Street: Imagine That!

1996

Sing! Sesame Street Remembers Joe Raposo and His Music

19909.0

Tales of the Tinkerdee

19626.5

Time Piece

19657.1

Muppet Breaker Upper

1979

Reflections of 'The Dark Crystal'

20075.8

Jim Henson: His Sesame Street Story

20092.0

The Muppets on Puppets

19707.0

Henson's Place: The Man Behind the Muppets

19846.9

Sesame Street: Sleepytime Songs & Stories

1986

Muppet Studios Presents: You're the Director

1988

This Way to Sesame Street

1969

The Paperwork Explosion

19675.0

50 Years of Television: A Golden Celebration

19899.0

Hey Cinderella!

19697.4

Muppet History 101

2004

The Wizard of Id

1969

John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together

19797.1

Sesame Street: Sing Along

19876.0

Muppets Magic from 'The Ed Sullivan Show!'

20038.5

The Vent Event

1978

Sesame Street: 20 Years & Still Counting! 1969-1989

19897.3

The Idea Man

1966

A Classic Christmas from The Ed Sullivan Show

1992

Of Muppets & Men

19816.6

Rocky Mountain Holiday with John Denver and the Muppets

19836.7

I'm Nobody

1966

Sesame Street: Elmo's World: Singing, Drawing & More!

20008.0

The King of Eight

197110.0

The Muppet Show Pitch Reel

19769.0

Jim Henson: In Performance

1990

Rowlf the Salesman

1966

Muppet Breakaway

1987

Muppet Coffee Break

1987

Sam the Snake

1969