One of My Heroes

 Today is the birthday of puppeteer Jim Henson, born James Maury Henson in Greenville, Mississippi (1936). As a freshman, Henson was asked to create a short puppet show, Sam and Friends, for a local TV station. He brought along fellow classmate Jane Nebel, to work with him, and the two were soon married. With a total payout of $5 per show, Henson had to improvise with design and materials. One of his earliest characters was Kermit, fashioned from his mother's pale green coat and a bisected ping-pong ball. The show was quite popular and had a six-year run. 

During this time, Henson began pioneering new methods and materials that would let puppets express more emotion, fully embracing the television medium. His working group coined the term "Muppets," a combination of marionette and puppet. Foam rubber replaced the traditional carved wood, and it gave faces more feeling. Rods replaced the traditional marionette strings. Unlike previous puppets, the Muppets spoke precisely and in sync. 

In 1969, the Children's Television Workshop asked Henson to join a start-up show for public television called Sesame Street. Though intended to be just a minor part of the show, the Muppets' popularity led to timeless characters such as Oscar the Grouch, Bert and Ernie, and Big Bird. 

Jane Henson said of her husband: "What Jim saw was that the puppet was as powerful as a human being. And in fact is more powerful -- less concerned about what it looks like, more direct, more able to go to the heart of things."

Jim Henson said, "The most sophisticated people I know; inside they are all children."