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Jim Henson's birth
Jim Henson was born on Sep 24 1936 in Greenville Mississippi and was the youngest of two children -
Early life
During Jim Henson's early life, he spent time with his grandmother who was a painter, quilter and needleworker who encouraged his creativity. He was inspired by television and puppeteers like Burr Tillstorm, Bill and Cora Baird -
School life
Jim Henson completed his schooling at the newly opened Northwest High school. In High school Jim made the most of the creative opportunities by providing covers, cartoons and spot illustrations for student publication. Jim's talent for set design was displayed in his school theater production and the puppet shows of Les Petit. -
First Job
At the age of 17, Jim Henson was hired to manipulate marionettes on the Junior Morning show WTOP-TV. The show was canceled after 3 weeks but Jim's talents gave him another opportunity to perform on the station on WRC-TV and NBC-affiliate with his friend and puppeteering partner Russel Wall -
University
Jim Henson applied to the University of Maryland and majored in studio arts. As a freshman he took a puppetry class that was mostly occupied with seniors -
First show
Jim Henson's first ever show was called Sam and friends, it was a 5 minute comedy that aired twice a day on WRC-TV in Washington DC after the news. It also included an early version of Kermit, the show also included Jim experimenting with the puppets. He used rods to move the puppets instead of string and used fabric covered foam rubber to create charaters -
Beginning of the Muppets
Both Jim Henson and Jane Nebel co-founded Muppets,Inc, which would later become the Jim Henson company. What got him national attention is when he got on the Jimmy Dean show with Rowlf the dog who appeared in many commercials Jim Henson used to keep his company afloat. -
Marriage date
Jim Henson and Jane Nabel were married with a small ceremony at Jane's home. They had 5 children after they got married. -
Experimental films
Henson began to explore and produced experimental films that got him nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film in 1965 -
Sesame street
Jim Henson created sesame street for inner city children in low-income urban households. -
The Muppet Movie
Jim Henson wanted to make people happy with the Muppets on a larger scale. With the major popularity growth in the Muppets, Lew Grade decided to help finance the production of the film and signed a deal with his company ITC Entertainment. -
The Empire strikes back
Jim Henson the puppeteering, but he was too busy on another project and instead suggested Frank Oz for the role. -
The Dark crystal
This movie directed by both Jim Henson and Frank Oz, it was one of the first films to feature just puppets. For this movie Henson wanted to create a more darker tone fantasy movie that was completely separated from his work on the Muppets. -
Fraggel Rock
Fraggel Rock was created to showcase complex relationships between different creatures. Jim Henson had an ambitious goal with this project and it was to end war. It was designed to be international, the brand of the show was to celebrate how connected and dependent we all are with each other. To show how vital it is we find a way to co-exist with each other. -
The Labyrith
Henson directed this film in 1986 with George Lucas as executive producer. The majority of the cast are puppets made by Jim Henson's creature company. The film was nominated for several awards. -
Jim Henson's death
Jim Henson died at the age of 53 in New York at the Presbyterian Hospital. He died from toxic shock syndrome caused by Streptococcus pyogenes. At the time of his death, negotiations about his company being sold to Walt Disney were still being talked through but fell through after his death -
MuppetVision 3D
In August 28,1989, Disney announced that they making deals to buy Jim Henson's company and the Muppet characters to create MuppetVision 3D. Before it was finalized Jim Henson died which lead to Disney instead licensing the Muppets for the 3D attraction that first opened on the anniversary of Jim Henson's death on May 16, 1991. -
The Muppet Christmas Carol
The Christmas Carol was directed by Jim Henson's son Brain Henson. It was received well by the box office. -
The bear and the big blue house
The bear and the big blue house was created by Mitchell Kriegman and developed by Jim Henson. It was made to teach basic preschool lessons. The show has won 3 Emmy awards, including two for outstanding directing for a children's series. -
Sold off
Officially The Muppets and The Big Blue house were sold to Disney for $75 million. The Jim Henson company still own the rights to The Dark Crystal, Fraggle Rock and other projects.