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99-508: Frank Oz (born Frank Richard Oznowicz ; May 25, 1944) is an American puppeteer, filmmaker, and actor. He is best known for his involvement with Jim Henson and George Lucas through The Muppets , Sesame Street , and Star Wars , as well as his directorial work in feature films and theater. During his adolescence, Oz worked as an apprentice puppeteer in Oakland, California . Despite his interest in journalism, Oz continued his career as

198-635: A Bachelor of Science degree in home economics . Henson began working at WTOP-TV (now WUSA-TV) in the late spring of 1954, at age 17, hired to "manipulate marionettes" on a Saturday morning children's show called The Junior Morning Show , until the show was cancelled only three weeks later. This first break into the Television industry was short-lived, but his talent landed him and his puppets an opportunity to continue working at WTOP-TV, lip-syncing on Roy Meachum's Saturday show. Henson's employment at WTOP-TV lasted only until August, when Saturday

297-657: A Funeral (2007), and an episode of the US television series Leverage (2011). Oz was born on May 25, 1944, in Hereford , Herefordshire , England, United Kingdom; the son of Frances (née Ghevaert; 1910–1989) and Isadore "Mike" Oznowicz (1916–1998), both of whom were puppeteers . Some of their puppets survived the war and were presented at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco. His father

396-879: A Landis film, his name is often spoken in the background. During airport scenes in Into the Night and Coming to America , there are announcements on the PA system for "Mr. Frank Oznowicz". Oz was married to Robin Garsen from 1979 to 2005. He married his second wife Victoria Labalme, daughter of historian Patricia Hochschild Labalme , in 2011. Oz has four children. He maintained a residence in England for nine years and, as of 2012, lives in Manhattan . Director Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990)

495-539: A blackout, or even because he is waiting for his upstairs neighbor to drop his shoes . Ernie (and Bert) are typically characterized as childlike. Bert's twin brother, Bart, however, is depicted as a traveling salesman, which would mean Bert (and probably Ernie) are both adults. A typical Bert and Ernie skit has Ernie coming up with a harebrained idea, and Bert trying to talk him out of it, ending with Bert losing his temper, while Ernie becomes oblivious to his own bad idea. Other sketches have involved Bert and Ernie sharing

594-521: A cannon, struck in the head with a hammer or baseball bat, or have a pie thrown in his face. The Jim Henson Company has posted a short selection of them. Henson later explained, "Till then, advertising agencies believed that the hard sell was the only way to get their message over on television. We took a very different approach. We tried to sell things by making people laugh." The first seven-second commercials for Wilkins were an immediate hit and were later remade for other local coffee companies throughout

693-442: A characteristic chuckling laugh (a trait he shares with his baby cousin, Ernestine), and he also has his signature pronunciation of the word "again" (ay-gain). He is a friend and roommate of Bert; they share an apartment on Sesame Street. Ernie's appearance and clothing contrast with Bert, as he is the shorter and more round of the pair, and he wears a shirt with horizontal stripes, whereas Bert's shirt has vertical stripes, and Bert has

792-509: A daily segment called " Journey to Ernie ". Ernie was one of the hosts of the show Play with Me Sesame , where he was performed by John Tartaglia during the second season. One regular segment that he hosted was "Ernie Says", a variation of the game Simon Says . In season 39 Bert and Ernie have appeared in the Bert and Ernie's great adventures segment Ernie also appears in the finales of The Muppet Movie and The Muppets Take Manhattan , in

891-524: A director, what you're really showing is you're showing the audience your view of the world ... I've always enjoyed, more than anything else in the world, bringing things to life, whether it's characters or actors in a scene or moments in movies. I've done so much with the puppets, that I'd always wanted to work with actors." Oz is also known as the performer of Jedi Master Yoda from George Lucas ' Star Wars series. Jim Henson had originally been contacted by Lucas about possibly performing Yoda. Henson

990-480: A false but widespread rumor that Henson had died of AIDS — a rumor that was swiftly and directly refuted by Gelmont. Frank Oz believed the stress of negotiating with Disney contributed to Henson's death, stating in a 2021 interview: "The Disney deal is probably what killed Jim. It made him sick." His remains were cremated , and in 1992, his ashes were scattered near Taos, New Mexico . News of Henson's death spread quickly and admirers of his work responded from around

1089-442: A game with Bert, who would much rather do something else (like read). Ernie keeps irking Bert with the game until Bert joins — and usually, by the time Bert starts enjoying the game, Ernie is tired of playing the game and wants to do something else. Ernie makes appearances without Bert, usually within the framework of another double act . He has regularly appeared in skits with Grover , Cookie Monster , Sherlock Hemlock and Lefty

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1188-418: A hospital. Two hours later, Henson agreed to be taken by taxi to the emergency room at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan . Shortly after admission, he stopped breathing and was rushed into the intensive care unit. X-ray images of his chest revealed multiple abscesses in both of his lungs as a result of a previous Streptococcal pharyngitis (strep throat) bacterial infection he had apparently had for

1287-406: A journalist, and really what I wanted to do was direct theatre and direct movies. So it was more a slow progression, working with Jim, but I felt limited. As an actor and a performer, you always feel limited because you're not the source of the creation, and I wanted to be the source. I wanted to be the guy and give my view of the world. And if I screw it up, I screw it up, but at least I tried. And as

1386-517: A loaf. In 1969, television producer Joan Ganz Cooney and her staff at the Children's Television Workshop were impressed by the quality and creativity of the Henson-led team, so they asked Henson and staff to work full-time on Sesame Street , a children's program for public television that premiered on National Educational Television on November 10, 1969. Part of the show was set aside for

1485-480: A lot more of my time on the creative side of things" with Disney handling business matters. By 1990, he had completed production on the television special The Muppets at Walt Disney World and the Disney-MGM Studios attraction Muppet*Vision 3D and he was developing film ideas and a television series entitled Muppet High . Henson and fellow puppeteer Jane Nebel were married on May 28, 1959, in

1584-585: A medley of Henson's favorite songs in their characters' voices, ending with a performance of "Just One Person" while performing their Muppets. In accordance with Henson's wishes, no one in attendance wore black, and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band finished the service by performing " When the Saints Go Marching In ". The funeral was described by Life as "an epic and almost unbearably moving event". The Jim Henson Company and

1683-436: A pair of jeans forming the sleeve for the puppeteer's arm. Though Henson told people that "Muppet" was a portmanteau of " marionette " and " Puppet ", many early Muppets were actually hand puppets , rod puppets , or some combination of the two. Direct control over the puppet's mouth, in combination with the softer construction materials, allowed the puppeteer to express a wider range of emotions and to more accurately move

1782-492: A part of it, but he ultimately concluded that "what we were trying to do and what his writers could write for it never gelled". The SNL writers were not comfortable writing for the characters, and they frequently disparaged Henson's creations. Michael O'Donoghue quipped, "I won't write for felt." Henson began developing a Broadway show and a weekly television series both featuring the Muppets. The American networks rejected

1881-751: A performing partnership that lasted until Henson's death; their teamwork is particularly evident in their portrayals of Bert and Ernie , Kermit and Miss Piggy , and Kermit and Fozzie Bear . In New York City, Henson formed a partnership with Bernie Brillstein , who managed Henson's career until the puppeteer's death. In the years that followed, more performers joined Henson's team, including Jerry Nelson , Richard Hunt , Dave Goelz , Steve Whitmire , Fran Brill , and Kevin Clash . In 1964 he and his family moved to Greenwich, Connecticut , where they lived until 1971, when they moved to Bedford, New York . Henson's talk show appearances culminated when he devised Rowlf ,

1980-437: A piano-playing anthropomorphic dog that became the first Muppet to make regular appearances on The Jimmy Dean Show . Henson was so grateful for this break that he offered Jimmy Dean a 40-percent interest in his production company, but Dean declined, stating that Henson deserved all the rewards for his own work, a decision of conscience that Dean never regretted. From 1963 to 1966, Henson began exploring filmmaking and produced

2079-818: A puppet instead of using CGI in Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), even using the original mold, because he felt CGI would not have worked as it was not true to the Yoda Luke knew in The Empire Strikes Back (1980). Oz also provided the voice of the computer-generated imagery (CGI) Yoda in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005). The conversion to CGI

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2178-489: A puppeteer when he was hired by Jim Henson in 1963 to work for The Jim Henson Company where he went on to perform several characters in multiple television series and specials. Oz performed the Muppet characters of Miss Piggy , Fozzie Bear , Animal , and Sam Eagle on The Muppet Show (1976–1981), and Cookie Monster , Bert , and Grover on Sesame Street (1969–2013). He was hired by George Lucas and began performing

2277-921: A screenwriting credit. In 1986, he directed his first film that did not involve Henson, Little Shop Of Horrors . The musical film starred Rick Moranis and Ellen Greene , as well as Vincent Gardenia , Steve Martin , Bill Murray , John Candy , Christopher Guest , Jim Belushi and a 15-foot-tall talking plant (voiced by Levi Stubbs ) which, at its ultimate size, required up to 60 puppeteers to operate. The film allowed Oz to show his ability to work with live actors and led to opportunities to direct films that did not include puppetry. Usually helming comedic productions, Oz went on to direct Dirty Rotten Scoundrels in 1988, starring Steve Martin and Michael Caine ; What About Bob? in 1991, starring Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss ; and Housesitter in 1992, starring Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn (all of which were scored by Miles Goodman ). Later films include The Indian in

2376-852: A series of experimental films. His nine-minute experimental film Time Piece was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film in 1965. He produced The Cube in 1969. Around this time, he wrote the first drafts of a live-action movie script with Jerry Juhl which became Tale of Sand . The script remained in the Henson Company archives until it was adapted in the 2012 graphic novel Jim Henson's Tale of Sand . During this time, Henson continued to work with various companies who sought out his Muppets for advertising purposes. Among his clients were Wilson Meats , Royal Crown Cola , Claussen's Bread, La Choy , and Frito-Lay , which featured an early version of his character Cookie Monster to promote their Munchos line of potato snacks. Like

2475-507: A series of funny, colorful puppet characters living on Sesame Street, including Grover , Cookie Monster , Bert and Ernie , Oscar the Grouch , and Big Bird . Henson performed the characters of Ernie, game-show host Guy Smiley , and Kermit, who appeared as a roving television news reporter. Henson's Muppets initially appeared separately from the realistic segments on the Street, but the show

2574-525: A short-form comedy television program on WRC-TV , while he was a freshman at the University of Maryland, College Park , in collaboration with fellow student Jane Nebel . Henson and Nebel co-founded Muppets, Inc. – now The Jim Henson Company – in 1958, and married less than a year later in 1959. Henson graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in home economics. In 1969, Henson joined

2673-575: A similar role and scene in Trading Places (1983), also directed by Landis. He had roles in several other Landis films including An American Werewolf in London (1981), Spies Like Us (1985), Innocent Blood (1992), and Blues Brothers 2000 (1998). In 2001, he had a voice acting role in the Pixar film Monsters, Inc. as Randall's scare assistant, Fungus. In 2005, he had a minor part in

2772-523: A skit, which aired during the first season of Sesame Street . The song " Rubber Duckie " from that skit became a modest mainstream hit, reaching No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1970. Ernie is a "Live Hand Muppet," meaning that while operating the head of the puppet with his right hand, the puppeteer inserts his left hand into a T-shaped sleeve, capped off with a glove that matches

2871-469: A small ceremony at Jane's family home. They had five children: Lisa (b. 1960), Cheryl (b. 1961), Brian (b. 1963), John (1965–2014), and Heather Henson (b. 1970). Henson and his wife separated in 1986, although they remained close for the rest of his life. Jane said that Henson was so involved with his work that he had very little time to spend with her or their children. His children began working with Muppets at an early age, partly because "one of

2970-477: A snack by division, but finding that one of them has a bit more; Ernie humorously decides to try to make it even by eating the extra piece, which goes forth until the entire snack is all eaten up. Others have also involved Ernie eating part of Bert's snack he prepares for himself, and when Bert comes back from somewhere, Ernie tries to make several (usually unsuccessful) attempts to cover up the crime in front of Bert. Some other plotlines involved Ernie wanting to play

3069-409: A song that he had debuted on The Muppet Show , as each member of the congregation waved a brightly colored foam butterfly attached to a puppet performer's rod. Later, Big Bird (performed by Caroll Spinney ) walked onto the stage and sang Kermit's signature song " Bein' Green " while fighting back tears. Dave Goelz , Frank Oz, Kevin Clash , Steve Whitmire , Jerry Nelson , and Richard Hunt sang

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3168-435: A tall, narrow head while Ernie's is wider than it is high. Additionally, Ernie has no visible eyebrows, while Bert displays a pronounced unibrow . Ernie is known for his fondness for baths with his Rubber Duckie and for trying to learn to play the saxophone . Ernie is also known for keeping Bert awake at night, for reasons such as wanting to play the drums, wanting to count something (like sheep ), to observe something like

3267-796: A teenager with the Vagabond Puppets, a production of the Oakland Recreation Department, where Lettie Connell was his mentor. Oz performed as a puppeteer with Jim Henson ’s Muppets . As a teenager, he worked with the Vagabond Puppets at the Children's Fairyland of Oakland , which is how he first met Henson. He was 19 when he joined Henson in New York to work on the Muppets in 1963. His characters have included Miss Piggy , Fozzie Bear , Animal , and Sam Eagle on The Muppet Show , and Cookie Monster , Bert and Grover on Sesame Street . In addition to performing

3366-550: A variety of characters, Oz was one of the primary collaborators responsible for the development of the Muppets, known most notably for his chemistry with Jim Henson himself, performing in such pairings as: Ernie and Bert; Cookie Monster and Kermit the Frog ; Kermit and Miss Piggy; Kermit and Fozzie Bear; Kermit and Grover; Ernie and Cookie Monster; Rowlf the Dog and Fozzie Bear; Rowlf and Miss Piggy, and The Swedish Chef (Henson performed

3465-854: A variety of prominent characters, notably Miss Piggy , Gonzo the Great , and Fozzie Bear , in addition to its large cast of supporting characters such as the Muppet musicians Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem with their chaotic drummer Animal . Henson's teammates sometimes compared his role to that of Kermit: a shy, gentle boss with "a whim of steel" who ran things like "an explosion in a mattress factory." Caroll Spinney , who performed as Big Bird , remembered that Henson would never say he did not like something. "He would just go 'Hmm.' ... And if he liked it, he would say, 'Lovely!'" Henson recognized Kermit as an alter ego, though he thought that Kermit

3564-428: A yearly basis through 2012). In 2001, his characters were taken over primarily by Eric Jacobson (with David Rudman as Cookie Monster). Oz explained why he decided on leaving the Muppets in a 2007 interview: "One was that I was a dad, I have four kids. The reason was that I was constantly asked to do stuff. And also, I'd done this for 30 years, and I'd never wanted to be a puppeteer in the first place. I wanted to be

3663-760: Is captured and presented in video media, and he won fame for his characters – particularly Kermit the Frog , Rowlf the Dog , and the characters on Sesame Street . During the later years of his life, he founded the Jim Henson Foundation and Jim Henson's Creature Shop . He won the Emmy Award twice for his involvement in The StoryTeller (1987–1988) and The Jim Henson Hour (1989). Henson died in New York City in 1990 from toxic shock syndrome caused by Streptococcus pyogenes . At

3762-636: Is held at the Academy Film Archive . In 2019, the YouTube channel Defunctland released a six-part miniseries on the life and legacy of Jim Henson. A biopic film based on Henson's life, known as Muppet Man , has been in development at Walt Disney Pictures and The Jim Henson Company since 2010. In April 2021, it was reported that Michael Mitnick was hired to rewrite the screenplay, previously written by Aaron and Jordan Kandell . Lisa Henson will serve as producer. In March 2022, it

3861-784: Is on display at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta , Georgia . Ernie is the subject of numerous books including: Ernie was one of the first characters to appear at Sesame Place theme park as a costumed character , in May 1983. (He had previously appeared at the attraction's groundbreaking event.) Sesame Street is localized for some different markets, and Ernie is often renamed. For instance, in episodes that are aired in Portugal, Ernie's name has been changed to Egas , in Brazil, his name

3960-585: The Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song . The Henson-directed The Great Muppet Caper (1981) followed, and Henson decided to end the Muppet Show to concentrate on making films, though the Muppet characters continued to appear in TV movies and specials. Henson also aided others in their work. During development on The Empire Strikes Back (1980), George Lucas asked him to aid make-up artist Stuart Freeborn in

4059-475: The Geffen Playhouse on May 16. In April 2017, with the financial backing by Neil Patrick Harris among others, the play began its Off-Broadway theatrical run, which was initially slated for 10 weeks, but ended up extending its run for 72 weeks. In October 2020, the streaming service Hulu purchased the rights to a live recording of the play, which debuted on January 22, 2021. In the late 1980s, Oz

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4158-485: The Jim Henson Foundation continued after his death, producing new series and specials. Jim Henson's Creature Shop also continues to create characters and special effects for both Henson-related and outside projects. Steve Whitmire , who had joined the Muppets cast in 1978, began performing Kermit the Frog six months after Henson's death. He was dismissed from the cast in October 2016, and Matt Vogel succeeded him in

4257-658: The Sesame Street movies. In Follow That Bird (1985), he and Bert search for Big Bird by plane. Ernie pilots the plane, and eventually, after they find Big Bird, he flies the plane upside-down, singing "Upside Down World". However, after they lose Big Bird, Ernie blames Bert. Ernie appears in the video special 123 Count with Me (1997), teaching Humphrey and Ingrid at the Furry Arms Hotel how counting can be very useful. From Sesame Street season 33 (2002) until season 36 (2005), Ernie and Big Bird starred in

4356-640: The 1960s. Among the most popular of Henson's commercials was a series for the local Wilkins Coffee company in Washington, D.C. , created for a campaign managed by advertising manager Helen Ver Standig . Most of the Wilkins advertisements followed a similar formula: two Muppets, in this case named Wilkins and Wontkins (usually both voiced by Henson), would appear. Wilkins would extol the product while Wontkins would express his hatred for it, prompting physical retaliation from Wilkins; Wontkins might be shot with

4455-494: The Columbia film Zathura as the voice of the robot. He played a lawyer in the critically acclaimed 2019 film Knives Out . Oz played a surgeon in scenes cut from the theatrical release of Superman III . Other cameos have included The Muppet Movie , The Great Muppet Caper , The Muppets Take Manhattan and several other Jim Henson-related films that did not involve just his puppeteering. When Oz does not appear in

4554-485: The Creature Shop as well as the rest of its film and television library, including Fraggle Rock , Farscape , The Dark Crystal , and Labyrinth . Brian Jay Jones wrote the book Jim Henson: The Biography. It was released on what would have been Henson's 77th birthday, September 24, 2013. The moving-image collection of Jim Henson, which contains the film work of Jim Henson and The Jim Henson Company ,

4653-553: The Cupboard (1995), In & Out (1997), Bowfinger (1999), The Score (2001), the 2004 remake of The Stepford Wives , and the original Death at a Funeral (2007). Oz has frequently experienced on-set tension while directing his films, notably during the productions of What About Bob? , In & Out , The Score and The Stepford Wives . In 2016, Oz directed a one-man stage show titled In & Of Itself starring Derek DelGaudio , which had its world premiere at

4752-530: The Frog. Of the show's guests, the Henson Archivist points out that Jim Henson placed a special importance on meeting Obraztsov: "As a teenager learning to make puppets, Jim checked out some books from the public library for instruction – one was Obraztsov’s 1950 book, My Profession " Henson continued creating children's television, such as Fraggle Rock and the animated Muppet Babies . He also continued to address darker, more mature themes with

4851-941: The Galaxy's Edge" alongside original C-3PO voice actor Anthony Daniels . He directed the 2017 documentary Muppet Guys Talking: Secrets Behind the Show the Whole World Watched in which he and other Muppet performers discuss working behind the scenes with Jim Henson and the Muppets. Inspiration as a filmmaker came to Oz upon a viewing of the Orson Welles film Touch of Evil (1958), the director told Robert K. Elder in an interview for The Film That Changed My Life : "I think it opened up my view of film – that there's so much more that could be done. Actually, by breaking so many rules, he allowed other people to say, 'Hey, I can maybe think of some stuff, too!' He just opened up

4950-410: The Muppets , and the show included a prototype of Henson's most famous character Kermit the Frog . He remained at WRC until Sam and Friends aired its last episode on December 15, 1961. In the show, Henson began experimenting with techniques that changed the way in which puppetry was used on television, foregoing the convention of pointing the camera at a stationary Puppet theatre and instead using

5049-864: The Muppets, the puppets in The Dark Crystal were based on conceptual artwork by Brian Froud , and it was a critical success, winning several industry awards including the Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film and the Grand Prize Winner at the Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival . The film was less financially successful in theaters, but later claimed an enormous following and revenue when it was introduced on VHS for home entertainment. Also in 1982, Henson co-founded Henson International Television with Peter Orton and Sophie Turner Laing as his partners. The company

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5148-528: The Salesman . Ernie and Bert also appear in Out to Lunch (1974), and are the hosts of this crossover special. In Christmas Eve on Sesame Street (1978), Ernie decides to buy Bert a cigar box to store his paper clips in. As he does not have any money, he trades his own Rubber Duckie for it. At the same time, Bert decides to get Ernie a soap dish to put his Rubber Duckie in, so that it will not keep falling into

5247-602: The United States Department of Agriculture. Henson's older brother, Paul Ransom Henson Jr. (1932–1956), died in a car crash on April 15, 1956. He was raised as a Christian Scientist and spent his early childhood in nearby Leland, Mississippi , before moving with his family to University Park, Maryland , near Washington, D.C. , in the late 1940s. He remembered the arrival of the family's first television as "the biggest event of his adolescence", being heavily influenced by radio ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and

5346-659: The United States, such as Community Coffee , Red Diamond Coffee, La Touraine Coffee, Nash's Coffee , and Jomar Instant coffee. The characters were so successful in selling coffee that soon other companies began seeking them to promote their products, such as bakeries like Merita Breads , service station chains such as Standard Oil of Ohio and the downstream assets of Marathon Oil , and beverage bottlers such as Faygo . Over 300 "Wilkins and Wontkins" commercials were made. The ads were primarily produced in black and white, but some color examples also exist. Henson sold

5445-541: The Wilkins Coffee ads of the late 1950s and early 1960s, the formula stayed fairly similar. For instance, one of the Claussen's commercials featured Kermit the Frog dangling from a window while a character named Mack asks him if he brought a loaf of the company's bread; when Kermit says he did not, Mack closes the window on Kermit's fingers and causes him to fall, suggesting he "drop down" to the grocery store to buy

5544-399: The art of puppetry in the United States. Around that time, he began creating darker and more realistic fantasy films that did not feature the Muppets and displayed "a growing, brooding interest in mortality." He co-directed The Dark Crystal (1982) with Oz, "trying to go toward a sense of realism—toward a reality of creatures that are actually alive". To provide a visual style distinct from

5643-642: The best ways of being around him was to work with him", according to Cheryl. Henson was a strong supporter of the civil rights movement . Henson appeared with Kermit on The Arsenio Hall Show in Los Angeles on May 4, 1990. This was his final television appearance. Shortly afterwards, he privately disclosed to his publicist that he was tired and had a sore throat, but that he believed it would soon go away. On May 12, Henson traveled to Ahoskie, North Carolina , with his daughter Cheryl to visit his father and stepmother. They returned to their home in New York City

5742-455: The biographical dramedy Saturday Night , which chronicles the production of the first episode of Saturday Night Live . Henson's characters are currently performed by the following puppeteers: Matt Vogel (Kermit), Peter Linz ( Ernie , Link Hogthrob ), Eric Jacobson ( Guy Smiley , The Newsman), Dave Goelz ( Waldorf ) and Bill Barretta ( Rowlf the Dog , The Swedish Chef , Dr. Teeth ). Ernie (Sesame Street) Ernie has

5841-593: The character of Yoda in the Star Wars series, beginning with The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and reprising the role in seven subsequent films and various media for the next forty years, including into the Disney era. His work as a director includes The Dark Crystal (1982), The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988), What About Bob? (1991), In & Out (1997), Bowfinger (1999), Death at

5940-418: The characters. In 1963, Henson and his wife moved to New York City where the newly formed Muppets, Inc. resided for some time. Jane quit performing to raise their children, and Henson hired writer Jerry Juhl in 1961 and puppet performer Frank Oz in 1963 to replace her. Henson credited them both with developing much of the humor and character of his Muppets. Henson and Oz developed a close friendship and

6039-405: The children's educational television program Sesame Street (1969–present) where he helped to develop Muppet characters for the series. He and his creative team also appeared on the first season of the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (1975–present). He produced the sketch comedy television series The Muppet Show (1976–1981) during this period. Henson revolutionized the way puppetry

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6138-508: The company was becoming typecast solely as purveyors of children's entertainment, so they targeted an adult audience with a series of sketches on the first season of the late-night live television variety show Saturday Night Live . Eleven Land of Gorch sketches were aired between October 1975 and January 1976 on NBC , with four additional appearances in March, April, May, and September 1976. Henson liked Lorne Michaels ' work and wanted to be

6237-418: The computer animation "Nobody Counts To 10." He also directed the original " C Is For Cookie " and Tales from Muppetland , a short series of TV movie specials that were comic retellings of classic fairy tales aimed at a young audience and hosted by Kermit the Frog. The series included Hey, Cinderella! , The Frog Prince , and The Muppet Musicians of Bremen . Henson, Oz, and his team were concerned that

6336-403: The creation and articulation of Yoda . Lucas had also wanted Henson to puppeteer the character, but Henson instead suggested Frank Oz for the role; Oz performed the role and continued in the subsequent Star Wars films. Lucas lobbied unsuccessfully to have Oz nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor . In 1982, Henson founded the Jim Henson Foundation to promote and develop

6435-419: The early television puppets of Burr Tillstrom on Kukla, Fran and Ollie and Bil and Cora Baird . He remained a Christian Scientist at least into his twenties, when he taught Sunday school, but he wrote to a Christian Science church in the early 1970s to inform them that he was no longer a practicing member. Henson attended a variety of grade schools in his youth, including Hyattsville High School until it

6534-785: The fabric "skin" of the puppet, thus "becoming" the left arm of the puppet. A second puppeteer usually provides the right arm, although sometimes the right arm is simply stuffed and pinned to the puppet's chest or the second puppeteer will perform both arms. The original segment of the song "I Don't Want to Live on the Moon" was one of the rare instances when Ernie's full body was shown. It reportedly took three puppeteers to perform Ernie in this segment: Jim Henson performed Ernie's head and left hand, while two other puppeteers operated Ernie's right hand and feet respectively. Other puppets of this type include Cookie Monster , Fozzie Bear , Beaker , and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew . Jim Henson's original Ernie puppet

6633-436: The first two seasons. He produced a series of counting films for the numbers 1 through 10 which always ended with a baker (voiced by Henson) falling down the stairs while carrying the featured number of desserts. He also worked on a variety of inserts for the numbers 2 through 12, including the films "Dollhouse"; "Number Three Ball Film"; the stop-motions "King of Eight" and "Queen of Six"; the cut-out animation "Eleven Cheer"; and

6732-712: The folklore and mythology-oriented show The StoryTeller (1988), which won an Emmy for Outstanding Children's Program. The next year, he returned to television with The Jim Henson Hour , which mixed lighthearted Muppet fare with more risqué material. It was critically well-received and won him another Emmy for Outstanding Directing in a Variety or Music Program , but it was canceled after 12 episodes due to poor ratings. Henson blamed its failure on NBC's constant rescheduling. In late 1989, Henson entered into negotiations to sell his company and characters (excluding those from Sesame Street ) to The Walt Disney Company for almost $ 150 million, hoping that he would "be able to spend

6831-406: The following day, and Henson cancelled a Muppet recording session that had been scheduled for May 14, 1990, due to his ill health. His wife came to visit that night. Henson was having trouble breathing when he woke up at around 2:00 a.m. EDT on May 15, and he began coughing up blood. He suggested to his wife that he might be dying, but he did not want to take time off from his schedule to visit

6930-522: The head and voice, with Oz normally operating the hands). Oz performed as a puppeteer in over 75 productions, including Labyrinth (as the Wiseman), video releases, and television specials , as well as countless other public appearances, episodes of Sesame Street , and other Jim Henson series. His puppetry work spans from 1963 to the present, although he semi-retired from performing his Muppets characters in 2001 (continuing to perform on Sesame Street on

7029-495: The hospital just a few hours sooner. Medical expert Lawrence D. Altman also stated that Henson's death "may have shocked many Americans who believed that bacterial infections no longer could kill with such swiftness." A lack of familiarity with this possibility, combined with the then-recent deaths of prominent men (including Rock Hudson , Liberace , Roy Cohn , and others) whose AIDS deaths had first been publicly euphemized as other illnesses due to AIDS's pervasive stigma, led to

7128-468: The image created by the TV camera and lens to dynamically engage with his characters. He believed that television puppets needed to have "life and sensitivity". Rather than carving wooden puppets Henson built characters from softer, flexible materials like foam rubber; his first iteration of Kermit was made from a halved table tennis ball and fabric from an old coat belonging to his mother, with denim from

7227-619: The last of which he gets a line. Ernie and Bert introduce a montage of Sesame Street clips in The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years . Ernie also narrates a Christmas pageant, ' Twas the Night Before Christmas , in A Muppet Family Christmas . In that same special, Ernie and Bert have a conversation with Doc , making them the only Sesame Street characters (not counting Kermit the Frog ) to have interacted with Doc. Ernie sang about his affection for Rubber Duckie in

7326-645: The next two decades working in commercials, talk shows, and children's projects before realizing his dream of the Muppets as "entertainment for everybody". The popularity of his work on Sam and Friends in the late 1950s led to a series of guest appearances on network talk and variety shows. He appeared as a guest on many shows, including The Steve Allen Show , The Jack Paar Program , and The Ed Sullivan Show . (Sullivan introduced him as "Jim Newsom and his Puppets" on September 11, 1966.) These television broadcasts greatly increased his exposure, leading to hundreds of commercial appearances by Henson characters throughout

7425-736: The past few days. Henson was placed on a ventilator but quickly deteriorated over the next several hours despite increasingly aggressive treatment with multiple antibiotics. Although the medicine killed off most of the infection, it had already weakened many of Henson's organs, and he died at 1:21 a.m. the following morning. He was 53. David Gelmont, the hospital's intensive care unit director, announced that Henson had died from Streptococcus pneumoniae , an infection that causes bacterial pneumonia . However, on May 29, Gelmont reclassified it as organ dysfunction resulting from streptococcal toxic shock syndrome caused by Streptococcus pyogenes . Gelmont noted Henson might have been saved had he gone to

7524-502: The possibilities more for me. That's what he did." Oz began his behind-the-camera work when he co-directed the fantasy film The Dark Crystal with long-time collaborator Jim Henson (Oz also puppeteered Aughra and the Skeksis Chamberlain in the film). The film featured the most advanced puppets ever created for a movie. Oz further employed those skills in directing 1984's The Muppets Take Manhattan , as well as sharing

7623-410: The project due to creative differences and was ultimately replaced by Richard Benjamin . Oz reportedly did not get along with Cher , who starred in the film. It was reported in 1992 that Oz was slated to direct a film adaptation of the musical Dreamgirls for The Geffen Film Company . Oz also planned to direct an unmade film titled Swing Vote before directing Dreamgirls . In the late 1990s, it

7722-450: The puppet's mouth along with the character's dialogue or while lip-syncing to music. Commenting on his puppet design philosophy, Henson said, "A lot of people build very stiff puppets—you can barely move the things—and you can get very little expression out of a character that you can barely move. Your hand has a lot of flexibility to it, and what you want to do is to build a puppet that can reflect all that flexibility." Sam and Friends

7821-530: The rights to Wilkins and Wontkins to the Wilkins Company, who allowed marketing executive John T. Brady to sell the rights to some toymakers and film studios. However, in July 1992 Brady was sued by Jim Henson Productions for unfair competition in addition to copyright and trademark infringement. The Henson company claimed that Brady was incorrectly using Henson's name and likeness in their attempts to license

7920-565: The role of Kermit. The Children's Television Workshop was renamed Sesame Workshop , which retained the Sesame Street characters in 2000. On February 17, 2004, the Muppets and the Bear in the Big Blue House properties were sold to Disney. One of Henson's last projects was the attraction Muppet*Vision 3D , which opened at Disney's Hollywood Studios on May 16, 1991, exactly one year after his death. The Jim Henson Company retains

8019-477: The series in 1976, believing that Muppets would appeal only to a child audience. Then, Henson pitched the show to British impresario Lew Grade to finance the show. The show would be shot in the United Kingdom and syndicated worldwide. That same year, he scrapped plans for his Broadway show and moved his creative team to England, where The Muppet Show began taping. The show featured Kermit as host, with

8118-583: The time of his death, he was in negotiations to sell his company to The Walt Disney Company , but talks fell through after his death. He was posthumously awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1991, and was named a Disney Legend in 2011. James Maury Henson was born on September 24, 1936, in Greenville, Mississippi , the younger of two children of Betty Marcella ( née Brown, 1904–1972) and Paul Ransom Henson (1904–1994), an agronomist for

8217-461: The tub, but has to trade his paper clips for it. Thankfully, Mr. Hooper can tell that neither of them really wants to give up their prized possessions, and so gives them their things back as presents. In Sesame Street... 20 Years & Still Counting (1989), he and Bert get a new video camera, and he talks Bert into using the camera to record footage of Sesame Street so that they can watch Sesame Street on television. Ernie appears in both of

8316-637: The world with tributes and condolences. Many of Henson's co-stars and directors from Sesame Street , the Muppets, and other works also shared their thoughts on his death. On May 21, 1990, Henson's public memorial service was conducted in Manhattan at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine . Another was conducted on July 2, at St Paul's Cathedral in London. Harry Belafonte sang "Turn the World Around",

8415-504: Was a commercial disappointment. This demoralized Henson; his son Brian Henson described it as "the closest I've seen him to turning in on himself and getting quite depressed." The film later became a cult classic. In 1984 Henson traveled to Moscow, where he made a film about Sergei Obraztsov . Henson also donated four dolls to the puppeteer to replenish the Moscow Museum of Obraztsov Puppets: Fraggle, Skeksi, Bugard, and Robin

8514-472: Was a distribution company for children's, teens' and family television. Henson worked with Oz again on The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984), this time with Oz as sole director. The film grossed $ 25.5 million domestically of a budget of only around $ 8 million, and ranked as one of the top 40 films of 1984. Labyrinth (1986) was a fantasy that Henson directed by himself, but—despite some positive reviews; The New York Times called it "a fabulous film"—it

8613-646: Was a financial success, but Henson began to have doubts about going into a career performing with puppets once he graduated. He spent six weeks in Europe during the summer of 1958, originally with the intent to study painting, but was surprised to learn that puppets were considered just as serious of an art form as painting or sculpture. After returning to the United States he and Jane made their partnership official, creating Muppets, Inc. in November of that same year, then marrying each other in 1959. Henson spent much of

8712-669: Was also a window trimmer. His parents moved to England where the father joined the Dutch Brigades . Oz's Dutch-Polish father was Jewish , and his Flemish mother was a Catholic . They left the UK when he was six months old and lived in Belgium until he was five. Oz and his family moved to Montana in 1951. They eventually settled in Oakland, California . Oz attended Oakland Technical High School and Oakland City College . He worked as an apprentice puppeteer at Children's Fairyland as

8811-404: Was also cancelled. Meachum then referred Jim to the local NBC-affiliate station WRC-TV , where Henson continued performing his puppets with Jane's help. The two were eventually offered a nightly segment for which they created Sam and Friends , a five-minute puppet show that afforded Henson much more freedom to develop his own creative work. The characters on Sam and Friends were forerunners of

8910-476: Was an American puppeteer , animator, actor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notability as the creator of the Muppets . Henson was also well known for creating Fraggle Rock (1983–1987) and as the director of The Dark Crystal (1982) and Labyrinth (1986). Born in Greenville, Mississippi , and raised in both Leland, Mississippi , and University Park, Maryland , Henson began developing puppets in high school. He created Sam and Friends (1955–1961),

9009-535: Was announced that Ron Howard planned to direct a documentary on Henson's life, with Brian Grazer 's Imagine Entertainment collaborating with Disney Original Documentary to produce it. The project was reported to have "the full participation and cooperation of the Henson family". In April 2024, it was announced the documentary was titled Jim Henson Idea Man . It began streaming on Disney+ on May 31, 2024. In 2024, Henson would be portrayed by Nicholas Braun in

9108-510: Was attached to direct a film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald 's 1922 short story " The Curious Case of Benjamin Button " for Universal Pictures , with Martin Short slated to star. Oz dropped out of the project after he could not figure out how to make the story work. Oz was also going to direct the 1990 film Mermaids after Lasse Hallström dropped out of the project. However, Oz also left

9207-500: Was bolder than he; he once said of the character: "He can say things I hold back." The Muppets appeared in their first theatrical feature film The Muppet Movie in 1979. It was both a critical and financial success; it made $ 65.2 million domestically and was the 61st highest-grossing film at the time. Henson's idol Edgar Bergen died at age 75 during production of the film, and Henson dedicated it to his memory. Henson as Kermit sang " Rainbow Connection ", and it hit number 25 on

9306-464: Was closed in 1951. He completed his high school career at the newly opened Northwestern High School , where he joined the puppetry club. He enrolled at the University of Maryland, College Park , the following fall as a studio arts major, thinking that he might become a commercial artist. As a freshman at the university, Jim took a newly offered puppetry class mostly populated with seniors, including his future wife Jane Nebel . He graduated in 1960 with

9405-493: Was interested. So it wasn't really an offer." In 2006, Dick Cook hired Oz to write and direct The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made for Walt Disney Pictures . However, Disney passed on the project in favor of Jason Segel's script following Cook's departure from the studio. As an actor, Oz appeared in one scene as a Prison Storeroom Keeper in The Blues Brothers (1980), directed by John Landis . He appeared in

9504-583: Was met with some criticism among fans, but Oz himself said that was "exactly what [Lucas] should have done." Oz returned to voice Yoda in several Disney theme park attractions, Star Tours–The Adventures Continue and within Star Wars : Galaxy's Edge as well as in the Star Wars Rebels episodes, "Path of the Jedi" and "Shroud of Darkness". Oz voiced Yoda in the 2020 Oculus Quest VR game "Tales from

9603-399: Was preoccupied and instead suggested Oz be assigned as the chief puppeteer of the character, as well as a creative consultant. Oz performed the puppet and provided the voice for Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Return of the Jedi (1983), Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), and Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017). Director Rian Johnson decided to return to using

9702-493: Was reported that Oz was going to direct either Sylvester Stallone or Bruce Willis in an unmade film titled Ump for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer . Oz claimed in a 2007 interview with The A.V. Club that he turned down the offer to direct Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002). However, Oz later retracted his statement about turning down the project in a 2021 interview: "No, they didn't offer it to me. They asked me if I

9801-436: Was revamped to integrate the two segments, placing much greater emphasis on Henson's work. Cooney frequently praised Henson's work, and PBS called him "the spark that ignited our fledgling broadcast service." The success of Sesame Street also allowed him to stop producing commercials, and he said that "it was a pleasure to get out of that world". Henson was also involved in producing various shows and animation inserts during

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