Jim HensonEssay Preview: Jim HensonReport this essayJames Maury Henson was born September 24, 1936, in Greenville, Mississippi, the second son of Paul Ransom and Elizabeth Marcella Henson. He grew up in nearby Leland, where his father, an agronomist, worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. His childhood was a happy one, as he explored both his artistic interests and the local countryside, whether alone or with friends. One of his childhood friends, Kermit, would later inspire the name of Hensons most celebrated creation. When he was in fifth grade, his family returned to Maryland. Hensons first television appearance occurred while he was still in high school, performing puppets on a local Washington, D.C., Saturday morning program on WTOP-TV. While a freshman at the University of Maryland, he turned professional when a local NBC affiliate hired him to do a five-minute late-night show called “Sam and Friends.” His first performing partner, Jane Nebel, would later become his wife.
Says his grandfather, “Jim Henson was a great-grandson of the late Thomas Henson. Jim Henson did a lot of fun, and he really liked his family and they were good friends.” Hensons’ grandfather was a former newspaper publisher and public health and social welfare aide to many former President Bill Clinton. “There are a lot of great things in life that our generation can’t forget — but there are some that we can still look back on fondly and celebrate,” says the grandson of Henson. Hensons died May 5, 1977 in San Antonio, Texas, after being hospitalized for a short time. He was 92 years old. When his family arrived in Florida, he took them to his home next door and said, “This is great, this is really the place to be, it’s amazing, but this is just the place, you know? Like I said, Jim Henson did a great, great job with it and people liked the character. They thought the show wasn’t a great show, but what’s next?” Hensons was born on August 8, 1934 in Greenville, Mississippi. For the past twenty years, he’s had several television series: the WTOP-TV Show “Sgt. Slapshot”-1999 and the CBS TV series “Empire” which premiered in 1987. He was an honor student at Montgomery State, and finished his high school year at the age of 22. In 1992, he attended Brigham Young University in Brigham Hill for a year, attending law school in New Hampshire where he studied public service, law and government, until the end of his senior year in May. In 1998, he became deputy chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Justice. Before joining the U.S. Department of Justice, he served as the acting head of the Office of Congressional Affairs under George W. Bush. He left the Justice Department in 2010 and joined Hensons’ law firm in March of 2014. The elder Hensons is the only son of two divorced parents in the U.S. His father is born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Both sons now attend Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. His mother, Mary Hensons, is a former nurse to several U.S. Senators. He has a daughter, Mary K. Lefevre, who died in October 2016. When contacted on June 21, 2017, Hensons released a statement: “I have given back my life, and the nation will see and bear their loss.” A Facebook post shared by Jim Hensons on May 23, 2017, shows support: “Jim Henson: Happy Birthday, Mom. Happy Birthday to you and your family.
On October 9, 2017, he died during a recent weekend cruise in his personal yacht. His family thanked him for doing such a great job. It is his sincere regret to learn of his passing and for leaving his wife and children behind. Your continued love and support will always be with their family. It is with great sadness that Jim Henson passed peacefully and without a trace of sadness on his private property. In the spirit of patriotism, we urge Members of Congress to be very careful as to their health, as they are on a regular basis dealing with their grief. To others as well, we implore you to continue speaking out when you are experiencing any sort of hardship or discomfort. RIP, KJ Hensons
On December 24, 2017, Hensons and his mother visited the world, taking in the lives of many people. As the two sons were doing their first public interview, their mother spoke directly to them. She told them her husband had been living with an enlarged appendix when she and her partner, a teacher in his mid 50’s, were diagnosed with HIV at an age of 16, after which time he
Says his grandfather, “Jim Henson was a great-grandson of the late Thomas Henson. Jim Henson did a lot of fun, and he really liked his family and they were good friends.” Hensons’ grandfather was a former newspaper publisher and public health and social welfare aide to many former President Bill Clinton. “There are a lot of great things in life that our generation can’t forget — but there are some that we can still look back on fondly and celebrate,” says the grandson of Henson. Hensons died May 5, 1977 in San Antonio, Texas, after being hospitalized for a short time. He was 92 years old. When his family arrived in Florida, he took them to his home next door and said, “This is great, this is really the place to be, it’s amazing, but this is just the place, you know? Like I said, Jim Henson did a great, great job with it and people liked the character. They thought the show wasn’t a great show, but what’s next?” Hensons was born on August 8, 1934 in Greenville, Mississippi. For the past twenty years, he’s had several television series: the WTOP-TV Show “Sgt. Slapshot”-1999 and the CBS TV series “Empire” which premiered in 1987. He was an honor student at Montgomery State, and finished his high school year at the age of 22. In 1992, he attended Brigham Young University in Brigham Hill for a year, attending law school in New Hampshire where he studied public service, law and government, until the end of his senior year in May. In 1998, he became deputy chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Justice. Before joining the U.S. Department of Justice, he served as the acting head of the Office of Congressional Affairs under George W. Bush. He left the Justice Department in 2010 and joined Hensons’ law firm in March of 2014. The elder Hensons is the only son of two divorced parents in the U.S. His father is born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Both sons now attend Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. His mother, Mary Hensons, is a former nurse to several U.S. Senators. He has a daughter, Mary K. Lefevre, who died in October 2016. When contacted on June 21, 2017, Hensons released a statement: “I have given back my life, and the nation will see and bear their loss.” A Facebook post shared by Jim Hensons on May 23, 2017, shows support: “Jim Henson: Happy Birthday, Mom. Happy Birthday to you and your family.
On October 9, 2017, he died during a recent weekend cruise in his personal yacht. His family thanked him for doing such a great job. It is his sincere regret to learn of his passing and for leaving his wife and children behind. Your continued love and support will always be with their family. It is with great sadness that Jim Henson passed peacefully and without a trace of sadness on his private property. In the spirit of patriotism, we urge Members of Congress to be very careful as to their health, as they are on a regular basis dealing with their grief. To others as well, we implore you to continue speaking out when you are experiencing any sort of hardship or discomfort. RIP, KJ Hensons
On December 24, 2017, Hensons and his mother visited the world, taking in the lives of many people. As the two sons were doing their first public interview, their mother spoke directly to them. She told them her husband had been living with an enlarged appendix when she and her partner, a teacher in his mid 50’s, were diagnosed with HIV at an age of 16, after which time he
In creating the “muppets”–a combination of the words “marionette puppet”–Henson rejected the painted wood appearance of most puppets of the period because they were not sufficiently expressive of emotion. Instead, he crafted his puppets, including an early version of “Kermit,” who was not yet a frog, out of flexible, fabric-covered foam rubber, giving them supple bodies and large mouths that allowed them to convey a wide range of emotions.
Success from the show proved the stepping stone for a series of commercials that brought him nationwide fame. Soon, he was making guest appearances on such national network programs as The Steve Allen Show, The Jack Paar Show, and The Today Show. In 1961, as Muppets, Inc. grew, Jim and Jane brought on puppeteer and writer Jerry Juhl, who would become one of Jims major collaborators.
The Hensons moved to New York in 1963 as his television appearances grew to include The Tonight Show, Ed Sullivan, and The Jimmy Dean Show, and weekly appearances on The Today Show as well as commercials. To keep up with demand, he hired master puppet builder Don Sahlin and young puppeteer Frank Oz. During this time also, he experimented with short films, including “Time Piece,” which was nominated for an Oscar for best live-action short subject. In 1968 he broadcast his first television special, “Muppets on Puppets,” for National Educational Television.
With the premiere in 1969 of Sesame Street, the Muppets reached superstardom. Produced by the nonprofit Childrens Television Workshop, Sesame Street used flashy imagery and quick pacing common in television commercials to teach preschoolers about letters, numbers, and social values. PBS producer Joan Ganz Cooney had invited Henson to create a family of Muppet characters to populate Sesame Street. Henson and his creative team created a number of memorable characters for Sesame Street, including Oscar the Grouch, Bert and Ernie, Grover, Cookie Monster, and Big Bird, each