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Jim Henson

Known for: Directing

Born 24/09/1936

Died 1990-05-16

Place of birth Greenville, Mississippi, USA

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.

Filmography

Series ★ 7,1

Sesame Street

1969

Series ★ 5,8

The Mike Douglas Show

Self

1961

Series ★ 6,9

Saturday Night Live

King Ploobis (voice)

1975

Series ★ 5,3

Wogan

Self

1982

Series ★ 6,1

Great Performances

Kermit the Frog (voice)

1971

Series ★ 6,8

The Dick Cavett Show

Self - Guest

1968

Series ★ 7,0

The Oscars

Self / Kermit The Frog / Waldorf

1953

Series ★ 8,0

The Muppet Show

Kermit the Frog, Waldorf, Rowlf the Dog, Link Hogthrob, The Swedish Chef, Dr. Teeth, The Newsman (voice)

1976

Series ★ 7,3

Fraggle Rock

Cantus

1983

Series ★ 7,3

Fraggle Rock

Convincing John

1983

Series ★ 7,3

Fraggle Rock

Gobo Fraggle, Convincing John, Cantus (voice)

1983

Series ★ 7,3

Fraggle Rock

Convincing John (voice)

1983

Series ★ 7,3

Fraggle Rock

Cantus the Minstrel (voice)

1983

Series ★ 7,3

Fraggle Rock

Cantus the Minstrel, Convincing John, Additional Muppets (voice)

1983

Series ★ 7,3

Fraggle Rock

Convincing John (voice, uncredited)

1983

Series ★ 8,3

Reading Rainbow

Kermit the Frog

1983

Film ★ 7,3

Labyrinth

Goblins (uncredited)

1986

Series ★ 8,0

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

1948

Film ★ 6,7

The Muppets

Kermit the Frog (archive voice) (uncredited)

2011

Film ★ 7,2

The Muppet Movie

Kermit the Frog / Rowlf / Dr. Teeth / Waldorf / Doc Hopper's Men / Link Hogthrob / Swedish Chef (voice)

1979

Film ★ 7,2

The Dark Crystal

Jen / High Priest, Ritual Master

1982

Film ★ 6,5

Into the Night

Man on Phone

1985

Series ★ 5,5

Sesame Street: Play with Me Sesame

2002

Series ★ 7,9

The Wonderful World of Disney

Self

1954

Film ★ 6,3

Muppets Most Wanted

Kermit The Frog (archival recordings) (uncredited)

2014

Series ★ 7,0

Einer wird gewinnen

Self

1964

Series

Sesame Unpaved

1999

Series ★ 9,0

The Jim Henson Hour

Self / Various

1989

Series ★ 10,0

Dolly

Kermit the Frog (voice)

1987

Series ★ 7,0

Wedden, dat..?

Self

1986

Film ★ 7,9

Jim Henson Idea Man

Self (archive footage)

2024

Film ★ 7,0

Sesame Street's 25th Birthday: A Musical Celebration

Ernie / Kermit the Frog / Guy Smiley (archive footage) (voice)

1993

Series

NBC Experiment in Television

Gorilla (voice)

1967

Film ★ 6,6

The Muppets Take Manhattan

Kermit the Frog / Rowlf / Dr. Teeth / Waldorf / Swedish Chef / Ernie / Granny / Horse & Carriage Rider / Link Hogthrob / The Newsman (voice)

1984

Film ★ 6,4

Follow That Bird

Kermit the Frog / Ernie (voice)

1985

Film ★ 6,9

The Great Muppet Caper

Kermit the Frog / Rowlf the Dog / Dr. Teeth / Waldorf / Swedish Chef / The Muppet Newsman / Zeke / Man in Dubonnet Club

1981

Film ★ 8,1

Dog City

Self / Kermit the Frog / Rowlf the Dog / Bugsy Them (voice)

1989

Series

In Their Own Words

Self (archive footage)

2015

Series

Peter Alexander präsentiert Spezialitäten

Self

1969

Film ★ 6,2

The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years

Kermit the Frog / Ernie / Dr. Teeth / Rowlf / Link Hogthrob / The Newsman / The Swedish Chef / Waldorf / Mahna Mahna / Harry the Hipster / Self

1986

Film ★ 7,4

Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street

Self (archive footage)

2021

Series ★ 8,8

Jim Henson's Little Muppet Monsters

1985

Film ★ 6,1

The Earth Day Special

Kermit the Frog (voice)

1990

Film ★ 6,9

The Christmas Toy

Kermit the Frog (voice)

1986

Film ★ 6,8

Night of 100 Stars II

Kermit the Frog

1985

Film ★ 7,4

The World of Jim Henson

Self / Kermit the Frog / Rowlf (archive footage)

1994

Film ★ 6,9

A Muppet Family Christmas

Kermit the Frog / Rowlf the Dog / Dr. Teeth / Swedish Chef / Waldorf / Ernie / Self

1987

Film ★ 7,0

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

Kermit the Frog / Ernie (archive footage)

1994

Film ★ 6,0

Sesame Street: Sing Yourself Silly!

Ernie / Singer / Kermit the Frog (archive footage) (segment "One Banana") (voice)

1990

Film ★ 6,2

The Muppets Go Hollywood

Self / Kermit / Rowlf / Dr. Teeth / Waldof / Swedish Chef / Pig

1979

Film ★ 6,8

The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson

Self / Various Muppets (archive footage)

1990

Film ★ 9,0

Mickey's 50

Kermit the Frog (voice)

1978

Film ★ 8,0

Out to Lunch

Kermit / Ernie / Guy Smiley / Person with Cue Card (voice)

1974

Film ★ 6,9

Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas

Kermit the Frog / Harrison Fox / Harvey / Snake (voice)

1977

Film ★ 7,1

The Cube

Gorilla (voice)

1969

Film ★ 7,3

Muppet Treasures

Kermit The Frog / The Swedish Chef / Waldorf / Link Hogthrob / Rowlf / Dr. Teeth / The Newsman

1985