Jim Henson

The Muppets. Labyrinth. Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas. What do all of these have in common? Each sprang from the imagination of Jim Henson, who was born in September 1936 in Greenville and spent much of his childhood in Leland.

From a young age, Henson felt pulled to the arts. In his freshman year of college, his local TV  series Sam and Friends gave birth to an early version of Kermit the Frog. In 1969, Henson began working for Sesame Street, for which he created beloved characters such as Big Bird, Bert and Ernie, and Oscar the Grouch.

His biggest claim to fame, however, came in 1976 with the premiere of The Muppet Show. During its five-year run, the show reached 235 million viewers in over 100 countries and earned four Emmys. Its success led to spin-offs such as The Muppet Movie and Jim Henson’s Muppet Babies, which earned four consecutive Emmys for Outstanding Animated Program.

In the 1980s, Henson created the series Fraggle Rock and developed new characters and techniques. His final completed project was Jim Henson’s Muppet*Vision 3D in the Disney parks in California and Florida.

Jim Henson died in May 1990. In 1991, he was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame; Kermit’s induction followed in 2002. Disney released The Muppets in 2011, a film which introduced Henson’s characters to a whole new generation.