Jim Henson
Directing
Born September 24, 1936 · 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.
Directed (46)
Jim Henson's Tales from Muppetland
2009
Muppet History 101
2004
Jim Henson: Commercials and Experiments
2004
Muppet*Vision 3-D
1991
The Song of the Cloud Forest
1989
Dog City: The Movie
1989
The Best of Ernie and Bert
1988
The Storyteller: The Heartless Giant
1988
The Storyteller: The Soldier and Death
1988
Labyrinth
1986
The Tale of the Bunny Picnic
1986
Rocky Mountain Holiday with John Denver and the Muppets
1983
Fraggle Rock: Live by the Rule of the Rock
1983
The World of 'The Dark Crystal'
1983
The Dark Crystal
1982
The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show
1982
The Great Muppet Caper
1981
Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas
1977
Muppet Picker Upper
1975
The Muppet Musicians of Bremen
1972
The King of Eight
1971
Tales from Muppetland: The Frog Prince
1971
The Queen of Six
1971
Number Twelve Rocks
1971
Doll House
1970
Sam the Snake
1969
Hey Cinderella!
1969
The Cube
1969
The Wizard of Id
1969
Wheels That Go
1967
Ripples
1967
The Paperwork Explosion
1967
Bufferin: Memories
1967
Limbo: The Organized Mind
1966
The Idea Man
1966
I'm Nobody
1966
Rowlf the Salesman
1966
The Reindeer
1965
Alexander the Grape
1965
Run, Run
1965
Time Piece
1965
Robot
1963
Shearing Animation
1962
Drums West
1961
Visual Thinking
1961
Cat and Mouse
1960
Acting (138)
The Muppet Script
2025
Joan Rivers at the BBC
2024
Jim Henson Idea Man
2024
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
2021
Sesame Street: 50 Years and Counting
2019
In Their Own Words: Jim Henson
2015
I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story
2015
Jim Henson: Behind the Seams
2014
Muppets Most Wanted
2014
Jim Henson: His Sesame Street Story
2009
Jim Henson's Tales from Muppetland
2009
Reflections of 'The Dark Crystal'
2007
A Sesame Street Christmas Carol
2006
Muppet History 101
2004
Jim Henson: Commercials and Experiments
2004
Muppet Music Moments
2004
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs: America's Greatest Music in the Movies
2004
Sesame Street: Cookie Monster's Best Bites
2004
Muppets Magic from 'The Ed Sullivan Show!'
2003
Sesame Street: Bert & Ernie's Word Play
2002
The Very Best of the Muppet Show: Volume 3
2001
The Very Best of the Muppet Show
1999
The Very Best of the Muppet Show: Volume 2
1999
The Best of Kermit on Sesame Street
1998
Sesame Street: Elmo Says BOO!
1997
Sesame Street: Quiet Time
1997
Sesame Street: Do the Alphabet
1996
