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.
143 movies · 24 shows
The Muppet Script
2025·0.0
Joan Rivers at the BBC
2024·0.0
Jim Henson Idea Man
2024·7.9
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
2021·7.4
Sesame Street: 50 Years and Counting
2019·5.5
In Their Own Words: Jim Henson
2015·7.0
I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story
2015·7.4
Jim Henson: Behind the Seams
2014·0.0
Muppets Most Wanted
2014·6.3
The Muppets
2011·6.7
Jim Henson: His Sesame Street Story
2009·2.0
Jim Henson's Tales from Muppetland
2009·0.0
Reflections of 'The Dark Crystal'
2007·5.8
A Sesame Street Christmas Carol
2006·6.7
Muppet History 101
2004·0.0
Jim Henson: Commercials and Experiments
2004·0.0
Muppet Music Moments
2004·0.0
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs: America's Greatest Music in the Movies
2004·8.3
Sesame Street: Elmo's World: The Street We Live On!
2004·7.6
Sesame Street: Cookie Monster's Best Bites
2004·0.0
Muppets Magic from 'The Ed Sullivan Show!'
2003·8.5
Sesame Street: Bert & Ernie's Word Play
2002·8.2
The Very Best of the Muppet Show: Volume 3
2001·0.0
The Very Best of the Muppet Show
1999·7.0
The Very Best of the Muppet Show: Volume 2
1999·6.0
The Best of Kermit on Sesame Street
1998·9.0
Sesame Street: Elmo Says BOO!
1997·6.4
Sesame Street: Quiet Time
1997·6.0
Sesame Street: Do the Alphabet
1996·6.0
Sesame Street: Imagine That!
1996·0.0
Orson Welles: The One-Man Band
1995·6.6
The World of Jim Henson
1994·7.4
Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!
1994·7.0
Sesame Street: 25 Wonderful Years: A Musical Celebration!
1993·7.3
Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration
1993·7.0
A Classic Christmas from The Ed Sullivan Show
1992·0.0
Getting Ready to Read
1992·0.0
The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson
1990·6.8
Jim Henson: In Performance
1990·0.0
Sing! Sesame Street Remembers Joe Raposo and His Music
1990·10.0
The Muppets at Walt Disney World
1990·6.6
Sesame Street: Sing Yourself Silly!
1990·6.0
The Earth Day Special
1990·6.1
Sesame Street: Monster Hits!
1990·6.0
50 Years of Television: A Golden Celebration
1989·9.0
An Evening with Jim Henson and Frank Oz
1989·10.0
Miss Piggy's Hollywood
1989·0.0
Dog City
1989·7.9
Free to Be... a Family
1988·8.8
Wow, You're A Cartoonist!
1988·10.0
Sesame Street: Put Down the Duckie
1988·6.8
The Best of Ernie and Bert
1988·7.0
Muppet Studios Presents: You're the Director
1988·0.0
Jim Henson: Sing-Along, Dance-Along, Do-Along
1988·0.0
Hey, You're as Funny as Fozzie Bear
1988·6.0
A Muppet Family Christmas
1987·6.9
Down at Fraggle Rock
1987·0.0
Muppet Breakaway
1987·0.0
Muppet Coffee Break
1987·0.0
Sesame Street: Sing Along
1987·6.0
Inside the Labyrinth
1986·7.6
The Christmas Toy
1986·6.8
Labyrinth
1986·7.3
Sesame Street: Learning About Letters
1986·7.0
The Tale of the Bunny Picnic
1986·7.0
The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years
1986·6.2
Sesame Street: Sleepytime Songs & Stories
1986·0.0
Sesame Street: Learning About Numbers
1986·10.0
Muppet Video: Rowlf's Rhapsodies with the Muppets
1985·9.0
Follow That Bird
1985·6.4
Gonzo Presents Muppet Weird Stuff
1985·7.0
Muppet Treasures
1985·6.3
The Muppet Revue
1985·0.0
Muppet Video: The Kermit and Piggy Story
1985·6.8
Night of 100 Stars II
1985·6.8
Into the Night
1985·6.5
Children's Songs and Stories with the Muppets
1985·7.3
The Bells of Fraggle Rock
1984·6.0
The Muppets Take Manhattan
1984·6.6
Henson's Place: The Man Behind the Muppets
1984·6.9
Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi
1983·8.9
Don't Eat the Pictures: Sesame Street at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
1983·6.6
Big Bird in China
1983·6.0
Rocky Mountain Holiday with John Denver and the Muppets
1983·6.7
The World of 'The Dark Crystal'
1983·6.7
Muppet Breakthrough
1983·0.0
The Dark Crystal
1982·7.1
The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show
1982·7.8
I Love Liberty
1982·0.0
Of Muppets & Men
1981·6.6
Muppet Side Splitter
1981·0.0
The Great Muppet Caper
1981·6.9
The Muppets Go to the Movies
1981·7.0
John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together
1979·7.1
The Muppet Movie
1979·7.2
The Muppets Go Hollywood
1979·6.2
A Walking Tour of Sesame Street
1979·0.0
The Orson Welles Show
1979·8.0
Meal Break
1979·0.0
Grump Critic
1979·0.0
Let's Have the Dam Break
1979·0.0
Muppet Breaker Upper
1979·0.0
Muppet Gimme a Break
1979·0.0
Christmas Eve on Sesame Street
1978·7.5
Hip Hip Parade!
1978·0.0
Mickey's 50
1978·9.0
Julie Andrews: One Step Into Spring
1978·7.0
The Vent Event
1978·0.0
The Bob Hope All Star Christmas Comedy Special
1977·6.0
Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas
1977·6.9
The Royal Variety Performance 1977
1977·0.0
Kagayake! Gorō Mapetto Geba Geba 90-pun!
1976·0.0
The Muppet Show Pitch Reel
1976·9.0
Sesame Street- Do you know where Ernie lives?
1975·0.0
Julie: My Favourite Things
1975·0.0
Muppet Picker Upper
1975·6.0
The Muppet Introduction
1975·0.0
Just a Few Announcements
1975·0.0
Out to Lunch
1974·8.0
Julie on Sesame Street
1973·7.3
Keep U.S. Beautiful
1973·0.0
The Muppet Musicians of Bremen
1972·6.4
The King of Eight
1971·10.0
Tales from Muppetland: The Frog Prince
1971·6.8
Pure Goldie
1971·8.0
The Great Santa Claus Switch
1970·6.1
The Muppets on Puppets
1970·8.0
This Way to Sesame Street
1969·0.0
Sam the Snake
1969·0.0
Sesame Street Pitch Reel
1969·9.0
Hey Cinderella!
1969·7.0
The Cube
1969·7.1
The Wizard of Id
1969·0.0
The Paperwork Explosion
1967·5.0
Limbo: The Organized Mind
1966·8.5
The Idea Man
1966·0.0
I'm Nobody
1966·0.0
Rowlf the Salesman
1966·0.0
The Reindeer
1965·0.0
Alexander the Grape
1965·6.0
Time Piece
1965·7.1
Tales of the Tinkerdee
1962·6.5
Visual Thinking
1961·0.0