Jim Henson
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.
50 directing credits · 162 acting credits
Directing · 50
The Storyteller
1988
Muppet Babies
1984
Fraggle Rock
1983
Labyrinth
1986
The Jim Henson Hour
1989
The Dark Crystal
1982
NBC Experiment in Television
1967
The Great Muppet Caper
1981
The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show
1982
Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas
1977
Rocky Mountain Holiday with John Denver and the Muppets
1983
Time Piece
1965
Dog City
1989
The Song of the Cloud Forest
1989
Fraggle Rock: Live by the Rule of the Rock
1983
The Cube
1969
The Muppet Musicians of Bremen
1972
The Tale of the Bunny Picnic
1986
The World of 'The Dark Crystal'
1983
Jim Henson's Tales from Muppetland
2009
Hey Cinderella!
1969
Muppet Picker Upper
1975
Run, Run
1965
Visual Thinking
1961
Tales from Muppetland: The Frog Prince
1971
The Storyteller: The Heartless Giant
1988
Muppet History 101
2004
Alexander the Grape
1965
Jim Henson: Commercials and Experiments
2004
Robot
1963
Cat and Mouse
1960
The Wizard of Id
1969
Shearing Animation
1962
I'm Nobody
1966
The Reindeer
1965
Wheels That Go
1967
The Best of Ernie and Bert
1988
Ripples
1967
Limbo: The Organized Mind
1966
The Paperwork Explosion
1967
Number Twelve Rocks
1971
Sam the Snake
1969
The King of Eight
1971
The Storyteller: The Soldier and Death
1988
Bufferin: Memories
1967
Rowlf the Salesman
1966
Doll House
1970
The Queen of Six
1971
Drums West
1961
The Idea Man
1966
Acting · 162
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
Saturday Night Live
1975
Sesame Street
1969
The Mike Douglas Show
1961
Great Performances
1971
Wogan
1982
The Dick Cavett Show
1968
The Oscars
1953
Reading Rainbow
1983
The Muppet Show
1976
Fraggle Rock
1983
Einer wird gewinnen
1964
The Wonderful World of Disney
1954
Labyrinth
1986
Wedden, dat..?
1986
The Jim Henson Hour
1989
Dolly
1987
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
1948
Sesame Unpaved
1999
The Muppets
2011
Sesame Street: Play with Me Sesame
2002
The Muppet Movie
1979
The Dark Crystal
1982
Night of 100 Stars II
1985
Muppets Most Wanted
2014
Peter Alexander präsentiert Spezialitäten
1969
Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!
1994
NBC Experiment in Television
1967
In Their Own Words
2015
Into the Night
1985
Jim Henson Idea Man
2024
The Earth Day Special
1990
Jim Henson's Little Muppet Monsters
1985
The Muppets Take Manhattan
1984
The Great Muppet Caper
1981
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
2021
The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson
1990
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs: America's Greatest Music in the Movies
2004
Follow That Bird
1985
Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration
1993
The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years
1986
Don't Eat the Pictures: Sesame Street at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
1983
The Muppets Go Hollywood
1979
John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together
1979
Sing! Sesame Street Remembers Joe Raposo and His Music
1990
The World of Jim Henson
1994
Mickey's 50
1978
The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show
1982
I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story
2015
A Muppet Family Christmas
1987
Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas
1977
A Walking Tour of Sesame Street
1979
The Very Best of the Muppet Show
1999
I Love Liberty
1982
The Muppets at Walt Disney World
1990
A Sesame Street Christmas Carol
2006
Rocky Mountain Holiday with John Denver and the Muppets
1983
The Very Best of the Muppet Show: Volume 3
2001
The Very Best of the Muppet Show: Volume 2
1999
Time Piece
1965
50 Years of Television: A Golden Celebration
1989
Sesame Street: Put Down the Duckie
1988
Out to Lunch
1974
Sesame Street: Sing Yourself Silly!
1990
Dog City
1989
The Christmas Toy
1986
Jim Henson: Sing-Along, Dance-Along, Do-Along
1988
Christmas Eve on Sesame Street
1978
Henson's Place: The Man Behind the Muppets
1984
Muppet Video: Rowlf's Rhapsodies with the Muppets
1985
The Muppets Go to the Movies
1981
Sesame Street: Bert & Ernie's Word Play
2002
Jim Henson: Behind the Seams
2014
Sesame Street: 25 Wonderful Years: A Musical Celebration!
1993
Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi
1983
Sesame Street: Sing Along
1987
The Orson Welles Show
1979
Free to Be... a Family
1988
Joan Rivers at the BBC
2024
Sesame Street: Elmo Says BOO!
1997
The Muppet Script
2025
Sesame Street: Cookie Monster's Best Bites
2004
Muppet Video: The Kermit and Piggy Story
1985
Sesame Street: Do the Alphabet
1996
The Bob Hope All Star Christmas Comedy Special
1977
Gonzo Presents Muppet Weird Stuff
1985
Julie Andrews: One Step Into Spring
1978
The Great Santa Claus Switch
1970
Sesame Street: Learning About Letters
1986
Children's Songs and Stories with the Muppets
1985
Inside the Labyrinth
1986
The Muppet Musicians of Bremen
1972
The Tale of the Bunny Picnic
1986
Miss Piggy's Hollywood
1989
The World of 'The Dark Crystal'
1983
Sesame Street: Sleepytime Songs & Stories
1986
Jim Henson's Tales from Muppetland
2009
Sesame Street: Quiet Time
1997
Reflections of 'The Dark Crystal'
2007
The Best of Kermit on Sesame Street
1998
The Royal Variety Performance 1977
1977
Hey Cinderella!
1969
Of Muppets & Men
1981
Sesame Street- Do you know where Ernie lives?
1975
Muppet Picker Upper
1975
In Their Own Words: Jim Henson
2015
This Way to Sesame Street
1969
Sam and Friends
1955
Visual Thinking
1961
Sesame Street: Imagine That!
1996
Hey, You're as Funny as Fozzie Bear
1988
A Classic Christmas from The Ed Sullivan Show
1992
Getting Ready to Read
1992
Big Bird in China
1983
Sesame Street: Learning About Numbers
1986
Tales from Muppetland: The Frog Prince
1971
The Bells of Fraggle Rock
1984
The Muppets on Puppets
1970
Muppet Treasures
1985
Muppets Magic from 'The Ed Sullivan Show!'
2003
Muppet Music Moments
2004
Tales of the Tinkerdee
1962
Muppet History 101
2004
Alexander the Grape
1965
Sesame Street 1986 Wrap Party
—
Down at Fraggle Rock
1987
Keep U.S. Beautiful
1973
Wow, You're A Cartoonist!
1988
Jim Henson: In Performance
1990
Jim Henson: Commercials and Experiments
2004
Hip Hip Parade!
1978
Jim Henson: His Sesame Street Story
2009
Muppet Studios Presents: You're the Director
1988
Let's Have the Dam Break
1979
Sesame Street: Monster Hits!
1990
The Wizard of Id
1969
I'm Nobody
1966
The Muppet Revue
1985
The Reindeer
1965
The Muppet Introduction
1975
An Evening with Jim Henson and Frank Oz
1989
Sesame Street Pitch Reel
1969
The Best of Ernie and Bert
1988
Kagayake! Gorō Mapetto Geba Geba 90-pun!
1976
Muppet Side Splitter
1981
Sesame Street: 50 Years and Counting
2019
Pure Goldie
1971
Julie: My Favourite Things
1975
The Muppet Show Pitch Reel
1976
Limbo: The Organized Mind
1966
The Paperwork Explosion
1967
Sam the Snake
1969
Just a Few Announcements
1975
The King of Eight
1971
Meal Break
1979
Muppet Breakthrough
1983
Rowlf the Salesman
1966
Muppet Breaker Upper
1979
The Vent Event
1978
Grump Critic
1979
Muppet Gimme a Break
1979
The Idea Man
1966