1936-199O
Muppeteer, Director, and Producer

Gentle Genius.

During the 1970s Jim Henson was hailed as one of the most creative entertainers working in television. PBS's Sesame Street, begun in 1969, was an enormous success, in no small part due to Henson's puppet characters, the Muppets. The Muppet Show (1976-1981), a program featuring characters Henson had made famous on Sesame Street, along with new characters, was the most successful syndicated television program of the decade. A gentle, soft-spoken, hardworking man with a keen sense of humor, Henson expressed himself best through his Muppets, particularly Kermit the Frog and Rowlf the Dog.

An Early Start.

Just out of high school, Henson got his first job in television in 1954, working as a puppeteer on a local television show in Maryland. His second show, Sam and Friends, lasted from 1955 to 1961. During this period Henson introduced a new technique in television...