Jim Henson Research Paper

Jim turned out to be a famous film maker and puppeteer because of his experiences and interests as a child and young adult. Jim Henson was born in Greenville, Mississippi on September 24, 1936. Jim’s family had not yet bought a television set because his parents were not quite sure about the Jim begged his parents for years, and finally at the age of thirteen his family purchased a television set. Henson started his career because of his love for television. His grandmother encouraged and sparked his abiding curiosity and interest in puppeteering. Edgar Bergan, the ventriloquist, inspired Jim when he was 2 years old. He kicked off his puppeteering career when he was young. He was in highschool when he joined a puppeteering group that aired …show more content…
Jim used a monitor to see how his puppets would look from the audience's point of view, the tricky part that needed some getting used to was that the monitor had a reversed screen so everything, including the puppets movements, from the puppeteer’s perspective, was reversed. (So for example, if you were standing facing the camera your left hand would be on the right side of the screen and your right hand would be on the left side of the screen.) Kermit the Frog, Henson’s world famous frog puppet, was denominated after one of Jim’s childhood friends, whose name was T. Kermit Scott. Kermit is said to be the world’s most famous frog and is also a symbol of Jim’s alter …show more content…
One thing that he is most known for is his muppets. “The Muppet Show” is one of the most successful shows in history. His production “The Muppet Show” had received a grand total of two-hundred-thirtyfive-million viewers in 106 countries in the first few years after its first television broadcast. The show also received three Emmy awards. “The Muppet Show” did so well that there was another television show that was brought to the T.V. screen in 1984 that also starred the Muppets, but at a younger age. The production was called “The Muppet Babies” and won four Emmy awards. Then in 1966, Jim was nominated for an Oscar award for his short film “Time Piece”, but did not receive it. Jim made television broadcasting history when his show “Fraggle Rock” aired in Soviet Russia and was the first midwestern show to air in the USSR. Henson made hundreds of puppets and characters for his shows and movies and developed a technique used to make it look like the puppet’s eyes were actually focusing on what they were looking at, this technique is currently called “The Henson Triangle”. Jim was also known for the songs that were used in his films such as, “Rubber Ducky”, sang by Ernie in Sesame Street, hit #16 on the billboard music charts and “Rainbow Connection” hit #25. Jim Henson will always be remembered for his view on the world and the ways he changed it for the