Happy Birthday Jim Henson!

Happy Birthday Jim Henson!  One of Henson’s early creations was Sam and Friends which was on WRC-TV, a local station for the District of Columbia.  The first Muppet, was Rowlf the dog, who appeared on The Jimmy Dean Show.  The Jim Heson Company was formed in 1958.  In 1969, Sesame Street aired and has been iconic for children from that day, featuring Bert and Ernie, Grover, Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch, Count von Count, and Big Bird.  Elmo was introduced on 1985 and is one of the popular characters. In 2017, Julia joined Sesame Street, a four year old autistic girl character, the show has never shied away from strong topics.  It currently runs on PBS Kids and HBO.  In March, a Sesame Street park expansion opened at Sea World Orlando.  In 1975-1976, Henson produced Land of Gorch sketches for Saturday Night Live.  The Muppets were a staple of television with The Muppet Show which ran from 1976 to 1981.  Kermit the Frog was our host and of course there was Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo the Great, and my favorites, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beeker.  

The Muppet Movie opened in theaters in 1979.  Also that year, Jim Henson formed Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.  Then, he created The Dark Crystal (1982) which was his foray into a mature fairy tale, dark, but a triumph of world bulding.  Of course, the series Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, is currently streaming on Netflix. He directed The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) and then Labyrinth (1986).  He created another iconic children’s show with Fraggle Rock (1983-1987) and then the animated series Muppet Babies (1984-1991).  A new Muppet Babies appeared on Disney Junior in 2018.  Next, Henson created The Storyteller (1987-1988) which also led to The Storyteller: Greek Myths (1990).  The first series won an Emmy Award in 1987 for Outstanding Children’s Program.  Then, he created the television program, The Jim Henson Hour (1989).  Jim Henson died on May 16, 1990.  His work and legacy continues.  Jim Henson Television produced the series Dinosaurs (1991-1994) and then the sci fi show Farscape (1999-2003).  In 1991, Muppet*Vision 3D opened at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  The Muppet films continued with The Muppets (2011) and Muppets Most Wanted (2014).  A television series, The Muppets, ran from 2015 to 2016.  Muppets Now is scheduled for the Disney+ streaming service.  Jim Henson's creations (along with all of the performers and talent with the Jim Henson Company) will always be loved and remembered.  Happy Birthday Jim Henson! 

Kermit at the Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited, Skirball Cultural Center, 2018, photo by the author.

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