50 Fun Facts About Jim Henson

In which US state was Jim Henson born in 1936?

He was born in Greenville and raised partly in Leland before the family moved to Maryland in the late 1940s.

Where did Henson study, meeting his future wife in a puppetry class as a freshman?

He took a newly offered puppetry class full of seniors, including his future wife Jane Nebel.

What subject was Henson's university degree in?

He had enrolled as a studio arts major thinking he might become a commercial artist.

What was the name of the short puppet show Henson and Jane Nebel made for WRC-TV from 1955 to 1961?

The three-to-five-minute nightly show included a prototype of Kermit.

The first Kermit was made from what?

Denim from a pair of jeans formed the sleeve for the puppeteer's arm, and the creature was at first a vague lizard.

Henson claimed "Muppet" was a portmanteau of which two words?

In truth many early Muppets were hand or rod puppets rather than marionettes.

In what year did Henson and Jane Nebel found Muppets, Inc.?

They married the following year; a European trip that summer had convinced him puppetry was a serious art form.

What product did Henson's Wilkins and Wontkins commercials sell?

In the seven-second spots Wontkins refused the coffee and got shot from a cannon or hit with a hammer; more than 300 were made.

Which snack company used an early Cookie Monster to advertise its Munchos potato snacks?

Henson also made ads for Royal Crown Cola, La Choy and Claussen's Bread before Sesame Street let him quit commercials.

Which piano-playing dog was the first Muppet to appear regularly on network TV?

Henson offered Dean 40 percent of his company in gratitude; Dean declined and never regretted it.

Henson's nine-minute experimental film Time Piece earned what honour in 1965?

He made a series of experimental films from 1963 to 1966, including The Cube in 1969.

Which puppeteer did Henson hire in 1963, beginning the partnership behind Bert and Ernie?

Writer Jerry Juhl had joined in 1961; Henson credited both with much of the Muppets' humour and character.

Which producer invited Henson's team to work full-time on Sesame Street in 1969?

PBS later called Henson "the spark that ignited our fledgling broadcast service".

Which Sesame Street characters did Henson himself perform?

Kermit often appeared as a roving television news reporter.

In Henson's Sesame Street counting films, what always happens to the baker at the end?

Henson voiced the baker himself; he also directed the original "C Is for Cookie".

What were Henson's sketches on the first season of Saturday Night Live called?

SNL writers disliked them; Michael O'Donoghue quipped, "I won't write for felt."

Which British impresario financed The Muppet Show after US networks rejected it in 1976?

The show was taped at ATV's Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire and syndicated worldwide.

Why did the American networks turn down The Muppet Show in 1976?

Henson scrapped a planned Broadway show and moved his team to England instead.

How did colleagues describe Henson's management style, comparing him to Kermit?

Caroll Spinney recalled he never said he disliked something; he would just go "Hmm", and if he liked it, "Lovely!"

Which song from The Muppet Movie, sung by Henson as Kermit, reached No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100?

It was Oscar-nominated and entered the Library of Congress National Recording Registry in 2021.

To whose memory did Henson dedicate The Muppet Movie?

The ventriloquist who had inspired him as a boy died at 75 during production.

Which Star Wars character did George Lucas ask Henson to help create for The Empire Strikes Back?

Lucas wanted Henson to puppeteer him; Henson suggested Frank Oz, who performed Yoda in the later films too.

Which fantasy illustrator's designs shaped the creatures of The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth?

Henson co-directed The Dark Crystal with Frank Oz in 1982, aiming for creatures that seemed actually alive.

What are the evil rulers of the planet Thra in The Dark Crystal called?

The heroes Jen and Kira are Gelflings, and some creatures needed as many as four puppeteers.

Who played Jareth the Goblin King in Labyrinth (1986)?

Jennifer Connelly starred as Sarah, and Monty Python's Terry Jones wrote the screenplay.

Which Monty Python member wrote the screenplay for Labyrinth?

He drew on Brian Froud's sketches for his first draft in early 1984.

How did Labyrinth's US box office failure affect Henson, according to his son Brian?

The film grossed just $12.9 million in the US but later became a cult classic.

Which pay-TV service co-produced Fraggle Rock with Henson, TVS and the CBC from 1983?

The show was designed to be adapted for broadcasters in many countries.

The puppeteer won Emmys for which two late-1980s series?

The Jim Henson Hour was cancelled after 12 episodes; Henson blamed NBC's constant rescheduling.

Which studio was Henson negotiating to sell his business to when he died?

The near-$150 million deal excluded the Sesame Street characters and collapsed after his death; Disney finally bought the Muppets in 2004.

What caused Jim Henson's death in May 1990?

Doctors said he might have been saved had he reached hospital a few hours sooner; false rumours that he had AIDS were swiftly denied.

How old was Henson when he died?

He had made his last TV appearance with Kermit on The Arsenio Hall Show less than two weeks earlier.

Which entertainer died on the same day as Henson, sharing the headlines?

News of the puppeteer's death spread quickly and tributes came from around the world.

At Henson's memorial in Manhattan, what did mourners wave as Harry Belafonte sang?

In keeping with his wishes no one wore black, and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band closed with When the Saints Go Marching In.

Which character sang "Bein' Green" at Henson's memorial while fighting back tears?

Caroll Spinney performed the bird; the other Muppeteers then sang a medley in their characters' voices.

Where were Henson's ashes scattered in 1992?

Frank Oz later said the stress of the Disney negotiations was probably what made him sick.

Who took over performing Kermit six months after Henson's death?

Whitmire had joined the Muppets in 1978; he was dismissed in 2016 and Matt Vogel has performed Kermit since 2017.

On what date did the Muppet*Vision 3D attraction open at the Hollywood Studios theme park in Florida?

One of his last projects, it closed to guests in June 2025.

Henson has Walk of Fame stars as himself and as Kermit. Who else has that double honour?

Disney is honoured with Mickey Mouse and Blanc with Bugs Bunny.

Who directed the 2024 documentary Jim Henson Idea Man?

It streamed on Disney+ from May 2024 with the family's full cooperation.

Which actor played Henson in the 2024 film Saturday Night, about SNL's first episode?

The Land of Gorch sketches had run on SNL's first season in 1975 and 1976.

Which Soviet puppeteer, whose book Henson borrowed as a teenager, did he make a film about in Moscow in 1984?

Henson donated four puppets, including a Fraggle and a Skeksis, to the Moscow puppet museum.

Which faith was Henson raised in, teaching Sunday school into his twenties?

He wrote to the church in the early 1970s to say he was no longer a practising member.

How many children did Jim and Jane Henson have?

Lisa, Cheryl, Brian, John and Heather all grew up around the Muppets; the couple separated in 1986 but never divorced.

How was Henson introduced on The Ed Sullivan Show in September 1966?

The talk-show appearances led to hundreds of commercial jobs through the 1960s.

What was the name of the manager who guided Henson's career from the 1960s until his death?

Around the same time Henson hired the performers Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Fran Brill and Kevin Clash.

What was the job of Henson's father, Paul Ransom Henson Sr.?

Henson was born in Greenville, Mississippi, the younger of two children.

In what year did Disney finally buy the Muppets, 14 years after Henson's death?

The Bear in the Big Blue House characters were sold in the same deal on February 17, 2004.

In 2015, a fossil frog genus from Canada was named Hensonbatrachus in Henson's honour, with what species name?

The Cretaceous-aged frog honours both Henson and his most famous character.

Henson entered which instrument's hall of fame in 2018 for portraying it positively in his shows?

Kermit famously plays the banjo in The Muppet Movie's opening number.