
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