Jim Henson

By Tom Kirvan

Puppeteer Jim Henson, the creator of the Muppets, was born on September 24, 1937, living a life that would leave an imprint on millions of youngsters – and adults – who were hooked on the popular TV show “Sesame Street.”

Henson, who died of pneumonia in May 1990 at age 53, was the inventive mind behind such adorable characters as Kermit the Frog, Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster, Bert, Ernie, and Big Bird, all part of a rag-tag crew that captured the hearts and minds of TV viewers.

“The Muppet Show,” which debuted in 1976, brought the likes of Kermit and Miss Piggy into American households, creating a children’s educational artform that had positive, world-wide popular culture influence.

A native of Mississippi, Henson grew up in Maryland where his father worked as an agronomist with the United States Department of Agriculture. While a theater arts student at the University of Maryland, Henson met his future wife, Jane Nebel. Together they formed a puppeteering team that spawned the Muppet characters and regular appearances on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in the 1960s.

Jim Henson

In reflecting on his enormous success, Henson attributed it to being positive and to being grounded.

“When I was young, my ambition was to be one of the people who made a difference in this world,” said Henson, who was a strong supporter of the Civil Rights movement during the turbulent days of the 1960s. “My hope still is to leave the world a little bit better for my having been here. It’s a wonderful life and I love it.”

Henson’s positive outlook on life was reflected in the characters he created and his profound belief in the mantra that “simple is good.”

Here’s more wisdom from Henson:

“It’s so much easier to be negative and cynical and predict doom for the world than it is to try and figure out how to make things better. We have an obligation to do the latter.”
“The most sophisticated people I’ve ever known had just one thing in common: They were in touch with their inner children.”
“Spend a few minutes in meditation and prayer each morning. I find that this really helps me to start the day with a good frame of reference. As part of my prayers, I thank whoever is helping me. I express gratitude for all my blessings and try to forgive the people that I’m feeling negative toward.”
“I don’t know where ideas come from, but when I’m working well, ideas just appear. I’ve heard other people say similar things – so it’s one of the ways I know there’s help and guidance out there. It’s just a matter of our figuring out how to receive the ideas or information that are waiting to be heard.”