Happy 75th Birthday to Jim Henson
Posted By Kathleen David on September 24, 2011
Jim would have been 75th today.
Outside of my parents, I would say that Jim Henson is still one of the biggest influences in my life.
His work had inspired me and amazed me.
But it is more than that. He managed to surround himself with like-minded people who were brilliant at things that he might be good at but he could see the genius in others. He could take a group of creative misfits and get them to work together as a team. Which I can say from years of stage managing is not an easy thing to do. And his people were very loyal to him. I think in all of my time meeting various people who worked with Jim Henson I have met two that had problems working with him and it was more philosophical differences than how they were treated by Jim.
That is a very special talent that doesn’t come around often.
The nice thing is that you can still see that quirky looks at the world that Jim’s Muppets were so famous for in the current work on Sesame Street and the viral videos that have come out of the Muppets and Sesame Street. The Spiderman video with Grover is pure Henson madness. And then there is the new Sesame video that has gone viral on the letter “G” and Glee.
And then there are the trailers for the new Muppet Movie including the new one based on the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo called the Pig with the Frog Tattoo. Stealth humor was a Henson signature. He took you down one path and you would suddenly find yourself on a totally different path with no idea how he got you there.
I know we all wonder what would have happened if. Honestly the Disney deal would have gone through a heck of a lot sooner than it. Probably the Creature Shop would have moved to California or at least Orlando. So many of the things that did happen would have happened at a slightly faster pace. I do wonder what he would have done with the current CGI technology.
I plan to watch a bunch of Muppet episodes and maybe a movie or two today in his memory.
I am grateful that the Muppets are coming back to the front of people’s minds.
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