Imagine a world without Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy. The world of puppetry would not exist if it was not for Jim Henson. He was the creative force behind beloved characters such as, The Muppets, that span generations. He taught children and adults to embrace the arts, be creative, and love one another. Although he has passed, his legacy lives on through his work and family. Henson's many talents truly make him a Renaissance man.
From a young age, Jim Henson grew up as a creative kid. His maternal grandmother was an avid quilter and artist who encouraged Henson to follow his passion for puppetry, the art of operating puppets. Jim loved performing and would often put on shows for his Cub Scout group. Henson enjoyed experimenting with the visual arts and his goal was to get on television. Jim's vision was to bring his puppets to life, he did not want to hide them behind structures, but make them life-like by focusing the camera on their faces. He landed his first job while in college, performing on a late night show called Sam and Friends in 1955. Sam and Friends would be the introduction to a
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Some projects he did to help fund other projects that were in the works. His puppets would make appearances on TV shows and commercials. Rowlf the Dog, one of his popular puppets, was in a Purnia commercial and also a regular on the Jimmy Dean Show. These commercials and TV appearances helped provide him with an income to work on a short film, entitled the Time Piece. Henson produced, directed and wrote this film. The experimental short film earned him a Oscar nomination. In 1969, Jim was approached to use his puppets on the children's program Sesame Street. In the beginning, Henson's characters like Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch were only on during certain segments, however, kids enjoyed seeing them on the show and became staples. To this day, we see many of Henson's characters on the popular educational