Happy 79th Birthday to Jim Henson
This past Tuesday there was the premiere of The Muppets on ABC. The demographic numbers were better than expected. The opinions of fans are all over the charts and that’s not what I want to talk about here. Personally I think there is something there and I hope ABC gives it the time to find its footing. And I did laugh out loud at some of the jokes.
Jim Henson is an icon. There is no two ways about it. He has influenced so many people and continues to do so.
Recently there was a show on PBS called In Their Own Words about Jim Henson where they did a really nice job of giving us a glimpse of the man behind the frog. This was not sugar coated. This was an honest look at a man who could be frustrated by the situation he found himself in but not letting it define him. Plus it is the first time I think in a documentary that they talked about what Jim died of and why he didn’t seek treatment at the time.
Jim Henson entered our household with Sesame Street and never really left. We watched the Muppet Show. We saw all the films. I made a special trip to a film festive to see Timepiece for the first time. We saw the Art of the Muppets at the Center for Puppetry Arts. The Muppets became part of our lives and they still are.
We will always wonder the “what ifs” but I think he would be happy with how the Muppets are more recognizable than the Warner Brother cartoon characters. Disney owns the Muppets but that would have happened if Jim had lived and they are doing things with them rather than keeping them up on the shelf.
Labyrinth and Dark Crystal have been come considered classics. There are Labyrinth sing alongs and showing of Dark Crystal at museums where people marvel at the complete creation of another world.
If you haven’t seen Timepiece, I highly recommend it. It was nominated for an Academy Award. Find his early commercial work and see the seeds of that which became the Muppets Show.
Today I plan to watch various Jim Henson projects including the episode of Fraggle rock with the first appearance of Cantus the Minstrel, the Muppet show with Harry Belafonte and some of Henson’s shorts including their appearances on the Ed Sullivan show.
Happy Birthday Jim and thank you for everything.
(for the VI: This is a very grainy black and white photo of Jim Henson with a lot of people crowed around him)
I am grateful that I met Jim Henson.
Jim Henson is an icon. There is no two ways about it. He has influenced so many people and continues to do so.
Recently there was a show on PBS called In Their Own Words about Jim Henson where they did a really nice job of giving us a glimpse of the man behind the frog. This was not sugar coated. This was an honest look at a man who could be frustrated by the situation he found himself in but not letting it define him. Plus it is the first time I think in a documentary that they talked about what Jim died of and why he didn’t seek treatment at the time.
Jim Henson entered our household with Sesame Street and never really left. We watched the Muppet Show. We saw all the films. I made a special trip to a film festive to see Timepiece for the first time. We saw the Art of the Muppets at the Center for Puppetry Arts. The Muppets became part of our lives and they still are.
We will always wonder the “what ifs” but I think he would be happy with how the Muppets are more recognizable than the Warner Brother cartoon characters. Disney owns the Muppets but that would have happened if Jim had lived and they are doing things with them rather than keeping them up on the shelf.
Labyrinth and Dark Crystal have been come considered classics. There are Labyrinth sing alongs and showing of Dark Crystal at museums where people marvel at the complete creation of another world.
If you haven’t seen Timepiece, I highly recommend it. It was nominated for an Academy Award. Find his early commercial work and see the seeds of that which became the Muppets Show.
Today I plan to watch various Jim Henson projects including the episode of Fraggle rock with the first appearance of Cantus the Minstrel, the Muppet show with Harry Belafonte and some of Henson’s shorts including their appearances on the Ed Sullivan show.
Happy Birthday Jim and thank you for everything.
(for the VI: This is a very grainy black and white photo of Jim Henson with a lot of people crowed around him)
I am grateful that I met Jim Henson.