Jim Henson

Biography

James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, actor, animator, creative producer, and director who achieved worldwide notability as the creator of the Muppets. Henson was also well known for creating Fraggle Rock (1983–1987) and as the director of The Dark Crystal (1982) and Labyrinth (1986), as well as creating the puppets for Sesame Street (1969). Born in Greenville, Mississippi, and raised in both Leland, Mississippi, and University Park, Maryland, Henson began developing puppets in high school. He created Sam and Friends (1955–1961), a short-form comedy television program on WRC-TV, while he was a freshman at the University of Maryland, College Park, in collaboration with fellow student Jane Nebel. Henson and Nebel co-founded Muppets, Inc. – now The Jim Henson Company – in 1958, and married less than a year later in 1959. Henson graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in home economics. In 1969, Henson joined the children's television program Sesame Street (1969–present) where he helped to develop Muppet characters for the series. He and his creative team also appeared on the first season of the sketch comedy show Saturday N…

Directed

1. Labyrinth (1986) — Director
2. The Dark Crystal (1982) — Director
3. The Great Muppet Caper (1981) — Director
4. The Storyteller (1988) — Director
5. Fraggle Rock (1983) — Director
6. Muppet Babies (1984) — Director
7. Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (1977) — Director
8. Time Piece (1965) — Director
9. The Cube (1969) — Director
10. Rocky Mountain Holiday with John Denver and the Muppets (1983) — Director
11. Tales from Muppetland: The Frog Prince (1971) — Director
12. The Jim Henson Hour (1989) — Director
13. Ripples (1967) — Director
14. The World of 'The Dark Crystal' (1983) — Director
15. Dog City (1989) — Director
16. The Muppet Musicians of Bremen (1972) — Director
17. Hey Cinderella! (1969) — Director
18. The Tale of the Bunny Picnic (1986) — Director
19. Wheels That Go (1967) — Director
20. Limbo: The Organized Mind (1966) — Director
21. The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show (1982) — Director
22. Shearing Animation (1962) — Director
23. Drums West (1961) — Director
24. Robot (1963) — Director
25. Run, Run (1965) — Director
26. The Paperwork Explosion (1967) — Director
27. The Song of the Cloud Forest (1989) — Director
28. Alexander the Grape (1965) — Director
29. The King of Eight (1971) — Director
30. The Best of Ernie and Bert (1988) — Director
31. Muppet Picker Upper (1975) — Director
32. The Wizard of Id (1969) — Director
33. Fraggle Rock: Live by the Rule of the Rock (1983) — Director
34. Jim Henson: Commercials and Experiments (2004) — Director
35. Muppet History 101 (2004) — Director
36. Jim Henson's Tales from Muppetland (2009) — Director
37. Cat and Mouse (1960) — Director
38. The Queen of Six (1971) — Director
39. The Idea Man (1966) — Director
40. Doll House (1970) — Director

Also appeared in

1. Labyrinth (1986) — Goblins (uncredited)
2. The Muppets (2011) — Kermit the Frog (archive voice) (uncredited)
3. The Dark Crystal (1982) — Jen / High Priest, Ritual Master
4. Muppets Most Wanted (2014) — Kermit The Frog (archival recordings) (uncredited)
5. The Muppet Movie (1979) — Kermit the Frog / Rowlf / Dr. Teeth / Waldorf / Doc Hopper's Men / Link Hogthrob / Swedish Chef (voice)
6. Saturday Night Live (1975) — King Ploobis (voice)
7. The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) — Kermit the Frog / Rowlf / Dr. Teeth / Waldorf / Swedish Chef / Ernie / Granny / Horse & Carriage Rider / Link Hogthrob / The Newsman (voice)
8. The Muppet Show (1976) — Kermit the Frog, Waldorf, Rowlf the Dog, Link Hogthrob, The Swedish Chef, Dr. Teeth, The Newsman (voice)
9. The Great Muppet Caper (1981) — Kermit the Frog / Rowlf the Dog / Dr. Teeth / Waldorf / Swedish Chef / The Muppet Newsman / Zeke / Man in Dubonnet Club
10. Into the Night (1985) — Man on Phone
11. Sesame Street (1969)
12. Fraggle Rock (1983) — Gobo Fraggle, Convincing John, Cantus (voice)
13. A Muppet Family Christmas (1987) — Kermit the Frog / Rowlf the Dog / Dr. Teeth / Swedish Chef / Waldorf / Ernie / Self
14. The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962) — Self (archive footage)
15. Follow That Bird (1985) — Kermit the Frog / Ernie (voice)
16. Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (1977) — Kermit the Frog / Harrison Fox / Harvey / Snake (voice)
17. The Oscars (1953) — Self / Kermit The Frog / Waldorf
18. Jim Henson Idea Man (2024) — Self (archive footage)
19. Reading Rainbow (1983) — Kermit the Frog
20. I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story (2015) — Self
21. The Christmas Toy (1986) — Kermit the Frog (voice)
22. Time Piece (1965) — Man
23. The Wonderful World of Disney (1954) — Self
24. The Cube (1969) — Gorilla (voice)
25. The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson (1990) — Self / Various Muppets (archive footage)
26. The Muppets Go Hollywood (1979) — Various Muppets
27. Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street (2021) — Self (archive footage)
28. Great Performances (1971) — Kermit the Frog (voice)
29. Christmas Eve on Sesame Street (1978) — Kermit the Frog / Ernie (voice)
30. The Dick Cavett Show (1968) — Self - Guest
31. John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together (1979) — Kermit the Frog / Rowlf / Waldorf / Dr. Teeth / The Swedish Chef (voice)
32. Inside the Labyrinth (1986) — Self
33. The Muppets at Walt Disney World (1990) — Kermit the Frog / Rowlf / Dr. Teeth / Waldorf / Swedish Chef / Link Hogthrob (voice)
34. Orson Welles: The One-Man Band (1995)
35. Henson's Place: The Man Behind the Muppets (1984) — Jim Henson (self)
36. Rocky Mountain Holiday with John Denver and the Muppets (1983) — Kermit the Frog / Rowlf the Dog / Waldorf / Zeke (voice)
37. The Muppets Go to the Movies (1981) — Kermit / Rowlf / Link Hogthrob / The Swedish Chef / Waldorf
38. The Earth Day Special (1990) — Kermit the Frog (voice)
39. Tales from Muppetland: The Frog Prince (1971) — Kermit / Garth / King Rupert (voice)
40. Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi (1983) — Self