The trio worked to develop the first nationally known Muppet character, Rowlf the Dog, who appeared regularly on "The Jimmy Dean Show" from 1963 to 1966. To help out, Jim and Jane brought on puppeteer and writer Jerry Juhl in 1961.īy 1963, increasing demand for national television appearances and an ever-growing list of commercial clients prompted Henson to seek out the talents of master puppet builder Don Sahlin and a young puppeteer named Frank Oz. In 1958, he won an Emmy for "Best Local Entertainment Show." The success of "Sam and His Friends" led to guest appearances on such national network programs as "The Steve Allen Show," "The Jack Paar Show" and the "Ed Sullivan Show." Henson also began making commercials for sponsors throughout the country. At the time, Henson doubted that anyone really watched his show. In addition to the Muppets, the show also introduced many of what would become Henson trademarks-music, off-the-wall humor and technical tricks. Made of foam rubber and covered with fleece, wool, flannel or other soft material, the Muppets were pliable, so their faces could be manipulated to imitate human facial expressions. The following year, as a freshman at the University of Maryland, he was given his own twice-daily, five-minute TV show called "Sam and His Friends." Realizing that traditional solid-head puppets wouldn't translate well to television, Henson, with the help of fellow classmate Jane Nebel (whom Henson would later marry), invented a new type of puppet that could be more expressive.ĭubbed Muppets (which, according to one story, came from combining the words puppet and marionette), Henson's puppets featured extremely wide, over-biting mouths and flexible arms that could be moved by rods. Hearing that "The Morning Show," a local Washington, DC, program, was looking for a puppeteer, he fashioned a crude puppet out his mother's old green coat and a couple of pingpong balls and landed the job. Henson began his television career while still a high school student in 1954. But perhaps his greatest accomplishment was the delight and wonder he brought to children and adults alike, championing the qualities of fancifulness, warmth and consideration in an often coarse and cynical age. As a pre-eminent popular artist, he contributed a lovable collection of endearing and enchanting characters to the diverse visual vocabulary of the 20th century. A brilliant innovator, he stretched the capabilities of advancing technology to adapt the ancient art of puppetry to the modern medium of television, transforming both in the process. Jim Henson can be credited with many accomplishments. People love going along with the idea of a beautiful pig.
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