History Creator / JimHenson

** Even with everything he did accomplish, he also had ''tons'' of other ideas that never got past his notes. An inflatable, portable nightclub, for instance.

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* BadassBeard: [[http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~kattanas/Images/young_henson.jpg Here's the reason he originally grew it.]]

** Even with everything he did accomplish, he also had ''tons'' more ideas that never got past his notes. An inflatable, portable nightclub, for instance.

* GreenAesop: Loved these and can be found all throughout his career. In fact, the very last SesameStreet skit he performed before his death [[http://www.sesamestreet.org/videos#media/video_4493a236-2579-4f23-9f71-8ed08181dcb0 has such a message.]]

* GreenAseop: Loved these and can be found all throughout his career. In fact, the very last SesameStreet skit he performed before his death [[http://www.sesamestreet.org/videos#media/video_4493a236-2579-4f23-9f71-8ed08181dcb0 has such a message.]]

* CreatorBreakdown: He had one in the mid 1980s, involving the disastrous reception to ''Film/TheDarkCrystal'' and a separation from his wife. He became morbid and reclusive and was just starting to come out of that stage when he died.
* DarkerAndEdgier: While ''Film/TheMuppetChristmasCarol'' did have some dark moments, ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'' and ''Film/TheDarkCrystal'' are by far the darkest films involving puppets he's done, the latter for SurrealHorror and the latter for a rather alien and cruel world.

* TheFunInFuneral: He personally requested that his funeral not be a dour occasion and demanded a dixieland jazz band play. Everyone had to wear ''colorful'' outfits, and everyone was assigned a basic puppet on a string to play with as they watched. It's true there were sad moments but the whole thing crested when Kevin Clash, using his [[SesameStreet Elmo]] voice broke out into the bawdy "Lydia the Tattooed Lady".

* HeyItsThatVoice: Most of Jim's characters spoke with variations of the same two or three voices.
** He had a rather idiosyncratic voice to begin with, so he really didn't need to do much to it.

* ItWillNeverCatchOn: He and the rest of the crew got a lot of this when ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' was being shopped around and when it first premiered. Happened again before ''TheMuppetMovie'' was released.

* {{Retirony}}: Inverted. Henson died just when he was ready to go back to being a full-time performer instead of running a production company.
** And yet he was not going back to performing his signature character, he had already tapped fellow Muppeteer Steve Whitemire for that.
* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: ''TheDarkCrystal'', ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'' and ''MirrorMask'' were DarkerAndEdgier than the Jim Henson Company's other productions.

* WorldBuilding: Both of his theatrical releases that stepped away from the Muppets had their own, in depth settings. These unique worlds were a combination of the genius of Henson and artist BrianFroud.
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[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSE1Mtnnm4Y&feature=related His funeral was pretty awesome]]. The downside was that it was never televised. Not once. And most of the videos of it have been taken down off Website/YouTube. KeepCirculatingTheTapes, they're absolutely worth tracking down.

Kermit, Sam and the other primitive creations of this show were the first [[Franchise/TheMuppets Muppets]], and ''Sam and Friends'', as well as the concurrently produced commercials for Wilkins coffee, set a new standard for puppetry. Henson's techniques of setting the camera's point of view right at puppet level rather than using a traditional puppet show stage, and using a TV monitor so a puppeteer could see his own performance, were the first in a series of innovations he and the team of talented men and women who came to work for him made in the field. The Muppets would become popular features on variety shows, once even taking over ''TheEdSullivanShow'' for a christmas special, as well as Jim's character Rowlf the Dog being a regular on the ''Jimmy Dean Show''. Henson even experimented with non-puppet films such as the surreal short, ''Time Piece'' which was nominated for a Live Action Short Oscar. However, it wasn't until Joan Ganz Cooney, and a show [[Series/SesameStreet brought to you by the letters]] [[Creator/{{PBS}} "P", "B" and "S"]] came into the picture that the Muppets would become an institution.

* CreatorBreakdown: He had one in the mid 1980s, involving the disastrous reception to ''TheDarkCrystal'' and a separation from his wife. He became morbid and reclusive and was just starting to come out of that stage when he died.
* DarkerAndEdgier: While ''Film/TheMuppetChristmasCarol'' did have some dark moments, Labyrinth and TheDarkCrystal is by far the darkest films involving puppets he's done, the latter for SurrealHorror and the latter for a rather alien and cruel world.

* DarkerAndEdgier: While the TheMuppetChristmasCarol did have some dark moments, Labyrinth and TheDarkCrystal is by far the darkest films involving puppets he's done, the latter for SurrealHorror and the latter for a rather alien and cruel world.

Later Henson-helmed projects were met with more sporadic success. ''Series/FraggleRock'' was one of the earlier successes in its initial run on {{HBO}}. While the show was produced by him, neither Henson nor Frank Oz took on regular recurring roles in it, instead opting for Jerry Nelson, Steve Whitmire and others to take the lead. Two big-screen efforts into non-Muppet fantasy arrived in TheEighties -- ''Film/TheDarkCrystal'' was a minor success, but its spiritual successor ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'' was mostly considered a disappointment in terms of its financial record. (Both films went on to be VindicatedByCable.) ''Series/TheJimHensonHour'', which would feature segments from another series, ''Series/TheStoryteller'', only lasted for about half a season. Then there was ''Series/MuppetsTonight'', which set to update the concept of ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' for the 90's by introducing new characters, a new host, a new setting, and new skits, but it only lasted a few seasons before slowly dying into obscurity.

Jim Henson died of a severe and sudden strep throat infection on May 16th, 1990. At the time, he was negotiating with Disney to turn over the rights to his characters so that he could focus on production and performing, and did not wish to visit the hospital (his wife would later state that the refusal was likely due to his desire not to be a bother to people). The Muppets carried on in his absence with mixed success. While ''Series/SesameStreet'' still runs strongly, the Muppet Show cast has had a more spotty record as of late trying to get their prominence back. Other productions by the Jim Henson Company and its performers, ranging from ''{{Dinosaurs}}'' and ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' to ''Series/BearInTheBigBlueHouse'' and ''DogCity'', continued Henson's legacy with new characters for new generations of fans. Today, Disney, who now owns the Muppet Show and its characters, has been slowly releasing the program on DVD in season box sets, after sporadic single disc releases from Time Life. The Muppets have been making fewer and shorter appearances in any area of entertainment, even surfacing with their own recent Website/YouTube channel of original skits. The Henson Company in New York City produces mainly CG series, internet material, and ''Sesame Street''.

The ''Muppet Show'' characters were finally bought by Disney in 2004. [[Film/TheMuppets The 2011 Muppet film]] set out to keep the original cast of ''The Muppet Show'' fresh without changing them as characters, and so far, it appears to be succeeding. A few photos of Jim Henson are visible in the film, including [[TearJerker a large one of him and Kermit in Kermit's office.]]

Jim Henson died of a severe and sudden strep throat infection on May 16th, 1990. At the time, he was negotiating with Disney to turn over the rights to his characters so that he could focus on production and performing, and did not wish to visit the hospital (his wife would later state that the refusal was likely due to his desire not to be a bother to people). The Muppets carried on in his absence with mixed success. While ''Series/SesameStreet'' still runs strongly, the Muppet Show cast has had a more spotty record as of late trying to get their prominence back. Other productions by the Jim Henson Company and its performers, ranging from ''{{Dinosaurs}}'' and ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' to ''BearInTheBigBlueHouse'' and ''DogCity'', continued Henson's legacy with new characters for new generations of fans. Today, Disney, who now owns the Muppet Show and its characters, has been slowly releasing the program on DVD in season box sets, after sporadic single disc releases from Time Life. The Muppets have been making fewer and shorter appearances in any area of entertainment, even surfacing with their own recent Website/YouTube channel of original skits. The Henson Company in New York City produces mainly CG series, internet material, and ''Sesame Street''.

In 1955, WRC-TV, a Washington DC television station, began airing a short five minute puppet show named ''SamAndFriends''. In addition to the manic title character and a skull-like omnivorous creature named Yorrick, it featured a lizard like creature made from an old green sweater and a pair of ping pong balls named Kermit. This was the humble beginning for both Kermit, who would eventually be refined in his design into a frog with a collar, and his creator and performer, Jim Henson.

Kermit, Sam and the other primitive creations of this show were the first [[Franchise/TheMuppets Muppets]], and ''Sam and Friends'', as well as the concurrently produced commercials for Wilkins coffee, set a new standard for puppetry. Henson's techniques of setting the camera's point of view right at puppet level rather than using a traditional puppet show stage, and using a TV monitor so a puppeteer could see his own performance, were the first in a series of innovations he and the team of talented men and women who came to work for him made in the field. The Muppets would become popular features on variety shows, once even taking over ''TheEdSullivanShow'' for a christmas special, as well as Jim's character Rowlf the Dog being a regular on the ''Jimmy Dean Show''. Henson even experimented with non-puppet films such as the surreal short, ''Time Piece'' which was nominated for a Live Action Short Oscar. However, it wasn't until Joan Ganz Cooney, and a show [[Series/SesameStreet brought to you by the letters]] [[{{PBS}} "P", "B" and "S"]] came into the picture that the Muppets would become an institution.

The ''Muppet Show'' characters were finally bought by Disney in 2004. [[Film/TheMuppets The 2011 Muppet film]] set out to keep the original cast of ''The Muppet Show'' fresh without changing them as characters, and so far, it appears to be succeeding. A few photos of Jim Henson are visible in the film, including [[TearJerker a large one of him and Kermit in Kermit's office.]]

* HeAlsoDid: Henson did a surrealistic teleplay called ''Film/TheCube'' in the 1960s about a man trapped in a small cube who's visited by various strange people as he tries to find his way out.

Later Henson-helmed projects were met with more sporadic success. ''Series/FraggleRock'' was one of the earlier successes in its initial run on {{HBO}}. While the show was produced by him, neither Henson nor Frank Oz took on regular recurring roles in it, instead opting for Jerry Nelson, Steve Whitmire and others to take the lead. Two big-screen efforts into non-Muppet fantasy arrived in TheEighties -- ''Film/TheDarkCrystal'' was a minor success, but its spiritual successor ''{{Labyrinth}}'' was mostly considered a disappointment in terms of its financial record. (Both films went on to be VindicatedByCable.) ''Series/TheJimHensonHour'', which would feature segments from another series, ''Series/TheStoryteller'', only lasted for about half a season. Then there was ''Series/MuppetsTonight'', which set to update the concept of ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' for the 90's by introducing new characters, a new host, a new setting, and new skits, but it only lasted a few seasons before slowly dying into obscurity.

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: ''TheDarkCrystal'', ''{{Labyrinth}}'' and ''MirrorMask'' were DarkerAndEdgier than the Jim Henson Company's other productions.

* BeyondTheImpossible: Henson pioneered several incredible techniques that sounded downright preposterous for the time, such as CGI Puppetry(1989) and fully animatronic characters that could ''walk on their own.''(The Doozers from ''Series/FraggleRock'')