Today we celebrate a man who brought much joy, entertainment, and education to millions of children, and even adults--the late Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets. In the 1970s, before most viewers subscribed to hundreds of television channels, Sesame Street was many preschoolers' program of choice. I watched it religiously and dressed up as Big Bird one Halloween. I was also a devotee of The Muppet Show, and would probably stop to watch even today if I came across it. In fact, a friend of mine owns one of the Muppet movies.

Born on September 24, 1936, Jim Henson was fascinated by television. He realized his dream of working in the industry when his puppetry hobby earned him five-minute spots on a Maryland NBC affiliate. Henson's first network program, Sam and Friends, debuted in 1955. His Muppets also appeared in commercials and performed on The Ed Sullivan Show. Rowlf the Dog, the pianist you may remember from The Muppet Show, was a regular on The Jimmy Dean Show, and popularized Henson's creations.

In 1969, Jon Stone, the first head writer for Sesame Street, suggested incorporating the Muppets into the new children's show on PBS. According to Henson's biography on the Museum of Broadcast Communications website, "it has been suggested that if there were no Muppets, there would be no Sesame Street. The Muppets are largely responsible for the colossal success of this program. In skits, songs, and other performances they epitomized the social skills fundamental to Sesame Street's mission--cooperation, understanding, tolerance and respect." Despite the success of Sesame Street, Henson wanted to bring the Muppets to a wider audience. He knew their appeal was not limited to the preschool crowd. In 1976, he created The Muppet Show, a variety show that featured the charming and zany Muppets alongside the day's biggest stars--John Denver, Florence Henderson, Don Knotts, Steve Martin, Elton John, John Cleese, Brooke Shields, Sylvester Stallone, Alice Cooper, Mark Hamill, Christopher Reeve, Diana Ross, Kenny Rogers, Lynda Carter, Paul Simon, Johnny Cash, Gladys Knight, and many others. Who can forget the Great Gonzo, the Swedish Chef, Miss Piggy and her crush on Kermit the Frog, and all of the other characters and skits? Muppet movies followed, as did the Fraggle Rock series, The Muppet Babies cartoon, and a few additional projects. Henson received 18 Emmys, seven Grammys, four Peabody Awards, and five ACE Awards.

For more information about Jim Henson, take a look at his bio on The Museum of Broadcast Communcations Website or The Jim Henson Legacy site. You can learn more about his movies and television series at the Internet Movie Database. Or, if you want to revisit your past, check out some of the videos we have here.

Do you have any favorite Sesame Street of Muppet Show memories? Please share them by leaving a comment below.

Source: "Henson, Jim." The Museum of Broadcast Communications http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/H/htmlH/hensonjim/hensonjim.htm (accessed September 24, 2007).