A Short Biography
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| Jim Henson: A Short Biography |
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| James Maury Henson, better known as Jim Henson was born on September 24, 1936 in Leland Mississippi. Jim's father Paul was an agricultural reasearch biologist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Betty, Jim's mother was a stay at home mom. Jim also know as Jimmy to his family had only one sibbling, Paul Jr. his older brother. In April of 1956 Paul Jr. was killed in a traggic car accident, making Jimmy an only child and affecting Jim and his work a lot. Some say the death of his brother made Jim work harder. Jim's first television show was Sam and Friends, it aired two times a day at very prime spots. The show was a five minute puppet sketch that was on at 6:25pm and 11:25pm. Sam and Freinds debut on May 9, 1955 and the show ended its run in 1961. Jane Nebel was Jim's partner on the show and in 1959 married Jim. In 1960, just a year after the couple wed their first child Lisa was born. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jim and Jane on their wedding day in 1959. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Man, and The Frog | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Kermit the Frog debut on the show Sam and Friends, and litterally became Jim's right hand man (Kermit was performed on Jim's right hand). Kermit was seen by many as just a mirror image of Jim, having many of the same personlity traits. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| On May 16, 1990 Jim henson died after an illness. Jim checked himself into a hospital just hours before, it was there in a the New York City Hospital that one of the most imaginitive men that ever lived was lost. Though Jim has been gone now for over a decade, his life work lives on and still thriving in men like his own son. His son Brian Henson was named president of Jim Henson Productions, inc. in 1991. Also in 1991 Jim was honored with a star on Hollywood Walk of Fame, and like the star there Jim and his work will never fade. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| This website has been designed as a Final Project for Theatre 80L Muppet Magic at the University of California - Santa Cruz. Enjoy! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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