On this day in 1936, Jim Henson, creator of Sesame Street and the Muppets franchise, was born.
Henson started making puppets to get into the TV industry, after seeing a listing for a puppeteer on a local TV station in Washington, D.C. Henson began to make puppets and perform professionally, eventually getting his own sketch comedy show “Sam and Friends” in 1955.
The show’s success landed Henson appearances on national shows like The Steve Allen Show, The Jack Paar Show and Today. He also featured in hundreds of commercials broadcast across the U.S.
In 1966, Henson was hired by a children’s television producer to work on Sesame Street, which premiered three years later. The crew of characters—including Bert and Ernie, Oscar the Grouch, Grover, Cookie Monster, and Big Bird—were a massive hit.
After developing his idea for The Muppet Show, Henson successfully pitched the show to a producer. That show would go on to be a hit, with a snarky cast of ridiculous characters alongside famous guests like Steve Martin to Monty Python’s John Cleese.
In the 1980s he created two landmark films in the history of practical effects, The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, both of which remain cult classics, and kept churning out TV shows, including Fraggle Rock, Muppet Babies (a winner of four consecutive Emmys), The Storyteller, and other shows.
Henson died in 1990 and age 53 after a brief illness. He’s survived by The Jim Henson Company, which has continued to steer the Muppets and Sesame Street franchises, as well as maintain the puppeteer’s legacy. For more on Henson, read here and here.
