This article is about the puppeteer. For the company he co-founded, see The Jim Henson Company. For the man who escaped slavery, see Jim Henson (memorialist).
Jim Henson
Henson in 1979
Born
James Maury Henson
(1936-09-24)September 24, 1936
Greenville, Mississippi, U.S.[1]
Died
May 16, 1990(1990-05-16) (aged 53)
New York City, U.S.
Cause of death
Toxic shock syndrome caused by Group A streptococcal infection
Resting place
Cremated; ashes scattered in Taos, New Mexico in 1992
Alma mater
University of Maryland, College Park (BS)
Occupations
Puppeteer
animator
actor
filmmaker
Years active
1954–1990
Board member of
Jim Henson Foundation
The Jim Henson Company (1958–1990)
Jim Henson's Creature Shop (1979–1990)
Spouse
Jane Nebel
(m. 1959; sep. 1986)
Children
Lisa
Cheryl
Brian
John
Heather
Awards
Courage Conscience Award
Emmy Award
Disney Legend
Inkpot Award[2]
James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, actor, and filmmaker 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).
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 classmate 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 educational 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 at age 53 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.
^"The Jim Henson Company". henson.com. Archived from the original on February 3, 2016.
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