Jim Henson
Jim Henson was born on September 24, 1936,
in Greenville, Mississippi. He moved
to Maryland in fifth grade and
throughout his childhood had a strong interest in
both art and television.
His grandmother was very supportive of his interests
and constantly
encouraged him to use his imagination. In 1954 Jim started in
television
performing puppets on a local channel’s Saturday morning program.
The
next year, while studying at the University of Maryland, he was given
a
five-minute show called Sam and Friends which aired twice a day. This
show
introduced the first Muppets, marionette puppets. The success of this
show led
him to many appearances on shows such as The Today Show and The
Steve Allen
Show. During this time Jim began making many humorous
commercials for sponsors.
With weekly appearances on these shows, Jim
asked for the help of a puppet maker
name Don Sahlin and a puppeteer name
Frank Oz. "From 1964 to 1969 Henson
produced several experimental films." In
the mid-60’s Jim was asked to
create characters to populate a new children’s
show, Sesame Street. It was
here where he made some of his most famous
characters such as Ernie and Bert,
Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster, and
Big Bird. On this show Jim produced over
two dozen shorts to teach counting
and other basics. Soon after his fame on
Sesame Street Jim, after
promoting the idea for The Muppet Show for years,
finally received backing to
produce. On this show the most famous Muppet of all,
Kermit the Frog, was
introduced along with Miss Piggy, Rizzo the Rat, Rowlf the
Dog, Fozzie
Bear, and of course Gonzo the Whatever. The Muppet Show became the
most
widely viewed television program in the world. From this show many movies
and
spin-off television shows have been produced. Jim Henson died in 1990
from
pneumonia right after his last project for Muppet Vision 3-D, an
attraction for
Disney World, and right before he was going to sell his
company to Disney
Studios. Today his son runs and owns the Henson
Company. Jim Henson possessed
many lovable qualities about him but his most
important characteristic was his
creativity. Jim Henson created characters
that were out of this world and quite
unexpected. Jim Henson also had an
extraordinary sense of humor, which attracted
young and old to his television
shows. Jim Henson once said, "Nobody creates a
fad. It just happens. People
love going along with the idea of a beautiful pig.
It’s like a
conspiracy." These qualities will definitely serve society
greatly in the
next one thousand years. Jim Henson’s creativity will inspire
writers and
producers to do the same. This will allow them to attract many
viewers of a
broad range of ages. Jim Henson’s humor will also influence the
next
millennium of people. His humor will teach people stuck in a world
of
seriousness to have a light heart and to laugh once in a while. I believe
Jim
Henson has taught everyone an important lesson, that no matter how
tough life
gets, you can always find a bit of little humor in
it.
Bibliography
"Henson, Jim." Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia.
1999 ed., Wilmeth, Don B.
"Henson, Jim." The World Book Encyclopedia.
1996 ed., 191.