Born in Greenville, Mississippi in 1936, his family moved to Maryland, near [Washington, DC]? in the late 1940s. In 1954, while still in high school, he began working for WTOP-TV creating puppets for a Saturday morning children's show. The next year he created Sam and Friends, a five minute puppet show for WRC-TV. Sam and Friends were already recognizably muppets, and the show included a primitive version of what would become Henson's signature character, Kermit the Frog. Already he was experimenting with the techniques that would change the way puppetry was used on television, notably using the frame defined by the camera shot to allow the puppeteer to work from off-camera.
The success of Sam and Friends led to a series of guest appearances on different nationally broadcast talk- and variety-shows, and to this day muppets will appear as "guests" on shows as diverse as The Tonight Show and Martha Stewart Living (as an aside, the author recommends tracking down and watching [Cookie Monster]?'s appearance on the latter show even if it's the last thing you ever do). Henson himself appeared as a guest on many shows, including the Ed Sullivan Show, and he had a regular segment on Saturday Night Live during its inaugural season in 1975. The greatly increased exposure led to hundreds of commercial appearances (mostly for Wilkins Coffee) by Henson's characters through the 1960s.
1963 was a busy year for Henson. He and his wife and fellow-puppeteer Jane moved to New York City, where the recently formed Muppets, Inc. would reside for some time. Rowlf?, a piano-playing anthropomorphic dog, the first muppet to make a regular appearance on a nationally televised show (The Jimmy Dean Show) was devised. And finally Henson's long-time partner [Frank Oz]? also came on board with the new company.
In the mid to late 1960s, Henson began experimenting with film-making, and produced a series of experimental films.
At about the same time, [Joan Ganz Cooney]? began work on [Sesame Street]?, an educational children's program designed for public television. A portion of the show was set aside for a series of colourful and funny puppet characters living on the titular street. These included [Oscar the Grouch]?, Ernie? and Bert?, Cookie Monster, and [Big Bird]?. Kermit was also included. At first the puppetry was to be only a small portion of Sesame Street, but after an unpopular test screening in Baltimore?, the show was revamped to place much greater emphasis on Henson's work.
Sesame Street was a wild success, and Henson acquired enough leverage within the television industry to create [The Muppet Show]?. Created for British television, the show featured Kermit once again as host, and a variety of other memorable characters including [Miss Piggy]?, [Gonzo the Great]?, and [Fozzie Bear]?. A variety show aimed at a family audience, and demonstrating a loving admiration for the days of vaudeville?, the show was a sensation in the United Kingdom and soon spread elsewhere in the world. The show eventually ended after a few seasons, but the characters have appeared in a long series of movies beginning with 1979's The Muppet Movie and continuing with:
Henson was also responsible for two non-Muppet Show related movies, 1982's high fantasy The Dark Crystal and the David Bowie-featuring Labyrinth from 1986.
He also continued creating children's programs -- [Fraggle Rock]? and the animated Muppet Babies -- and more sophisticated fare -- the mythology-oriented The Storyteller.
Jim Henson died unexpectedly in 1990 due to pneumonia?.
The Jim Henson Company has continued on after his death, with his son [Brian Henson]? as chairman. [Steve Whitmire]?, a veteran member of the muppet puppeteering crew, has assumed the roles of the two most famous characters played by Henson, Kermit the Frog and Ernie.
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