Jim Henson is an American puppeteer known to the Russian viewer for the legendary show. But few people know that he was also a talented director, screenwriter. Now with the advent of computer animation programs, Jim Henson's name is forgotten. But if you visit Hollywood, you will see on the Walk of Fame and a star in honor of the puppeteer, and his most famous character, the frog Kermit - and that means a lot in the modern world. So what kind of person was James Mauri Henson? A description of his life, as well as his career, can be found in this article.
Biography. Carier start
Jim Henson was born on September 24, 1936 in the family of agronomists Elizabeth Marcella and Paul. In the family, he was the second child. In addition to him, his parents had an eldest son and four daughters. Jim spent his early childhood in his native Leland (Mississippi), but by the end of the forties the family moved closer to Washington. While studying in the last grade of the school, Jim decided to make pocket money. And for this purpose, he came to a local television studio to take part in the children's morning show “The Junior Morning Show”. And although Jim was only, roughly speaking, “running errands”, the young man was so inspired by the puppet play and ventriloquism that he decided to connect his life with this branch of theatrical art. When he managed to enter the University of Maryland, he chose the creation of images as the main discipline. And as an elective, he began to attend sewing and needlework courses. And these last classes became decisive for Henson in his subsequent career. He realized that dolls can be made not only from plastic and wood. Soft, rag creatures turned out to be very plastic. They conveyed emotions well, looked more alive.
The coming of glory
While still at university, Jim Henson was able to get into the sketch show "Sam and His Friends." Kermit appeared in it - the prototype of the famous frog. True, at that time the toy was a lizard. To create it, Henson cut a female coat of green color, filled his body with foam rubber, made his head so that it could express emotions, and supplemented his legs with ropes so that they could be set in motion. Lizard Kermit and other friends of Sam literally won the hearts of young viewers. The five-minute ordinary show was moved to prime time so the children could watch it before the evening news.
Soft toys that know how to frown, smile, or cry evoked more reciprocal feelings from the audience than the old wooden ventriloquists, in which only the lower jaw moved. In total, more than eighty episodes of "Sam and His Friends" were shot. Over the five years of working in the project, the puppeteer has gained enough experience in order to proceed with the realization of his dream - his own puppet series.
The Muppet Show
Having earned some money by creating commercials, Henson moved to New York (by this time he had already got a wife) and in 1963 founded the company Muppets. Where did this name come from? This is a simple and therefore brilliant combination of two English words: marionette (puppet doll) and pappi (puppy). So there was a show where the main characters were soft, funny and almost lively animals. The star of the program was Kermit, notorious for the audience, who turned from a lizard into a frog. Since Jim Henson's wife left the project to look after the children born, he hired Jerry Jule as a screenwriter and Frank Oz as a puppeteer. The friendship of these three lasted more than 27 years and remained after the end of the Muppet show. Some heroes, for example, the Kermit frog, migrated to a new puppet project - “Sesame Street”. For this show, Henson also made a lot of characters. He also voiced one of the dolls - Bert.
Jim Henson: filmography
The success of these programs allowed the puppeteer to give up advertising and realize his dream - to star in a real movie. His debut as an actor is a work in the film “Time Lapse” (1965). This is not to say that his role was a failure. But she did not bring a springboard to acting as well. A much brighter future awaited the Muppets project. Soft little animals broke in 1975 on America’s highly popular Saturday Night Live broadcast. Prior to that, the Muppets and Valentine's Day and Sex and Violence seasons were filmed. Gradually, dolls began to conquer an adult audience, communicating on relevant topics about politics and life.
Henson reached a real peak of fame when his own program of the puppeteer and director of the Muppet Show began to be broadcast on the British channel Associated Television. However, Henson tried to try his hand at shooting experimental films. His "Time of Peace" was nominated for an Oscar. His second work, “Cube,” was appreciated only after years. In 1983, the director received a grand prix at the Avoriaz science fiction film festival for the film "Dark Crystal". Also received the recognition of the audience his picture "Labyrinth." Both dolls and live actors participate in it. Henson was invited to voice Master Yoda in Star Wars, but he refused, advising Lucas for this role as his friend Oz.
Family life
In her last year at the University of Maryland, James Mauri Henson fell in love with a student at the university, Jane Niebel, who also worked on the Sam and His Friends project. The couple married and continued to collaborate on the creation of puppet shows. Jane gave birth to her husband from 1960 to 1970. five children: Lisa, Cheryl, Brian, John and Heather. Sons and daughters to a greater or lesser extent participated in the work of parents. As James Henson put it, children should play dolls. But the work gradually led the director away from the family. In 1986, Jane Niebel filed for divorce, motivating her decision by the fact that she already feels like a single woman.
Posthumous glory
In mid-May 1990, Jim Henson was admitted to a New York hospital with a diagnosis of streptococcal infection. As Terry Gilliam stated in his Pre-Death Memoirs book, the creator of the muppets launched the disease because he refused treatment because of religious reasons (he was a supporter of the Jehovah's Witnesses denomination). Henson died the next day, May 16, from multiple organ failure. He was 53 years old. In 1991, a star was opened on the Hollywood Walk of Fame - Jim Henson ... and the frog Kermit.