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All radical ideas, all ideas that are to cause a revolution in human thought, must first be able to do one quite difficult thing; they must be able to change one person's mind, and then another, and then another. And for this to happen, the environment must be right for the idea to take hold. Thus, the idea must come at a time when people are unsatisfied with the status quo. This was the way with Jim Henson.
The time was around the 1960's. It was a time of great turmoil and revolution. A time of Camelot and Kent State. People were protesting Vietnam. Bloody, violent anti-war demonstrations resulted in seventy thousand arrests, over nine thousand casualties and two hundred deaths. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Nixon were presidents. The world watched as a U. S. astronaut was the first man to walk on the moon. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. organized a civil rights march on Washington D. C.. Young people were throwing away traditional beliefs and values. The counter-culture thrived. Hippies wore patched and torn blue jeans. Drugs and free love were prominent. Music followed suit with sexual and drug overtones.
In art, comics grew in popularity. Films poked fun at the cold war. Horror films grew in popularity. Hollywood established the ratings system in response to these movies. There was also an important change in children's programming. Parents were demanding more educational programming, as an alternative to the violent Saturday morning cartoons. So in 1969, Sesame Street was born. With its unique mix of learning and fun, it soon became one of the most watched shows in history.
The man who made Sesame Street so popular was named James Maury Henson. Jim was born on September 24, 1936 in the small town of Leland, Mississippi. His father, Paul, Sr., was a research biologist for the U. S. Department of Agriculture. His mother, Betty, died in a car crash when he was 15. In fifth grade, the Henson family moved to Hyattsville, Maryland. His grandparents, known as Pop and Dear, lived near by and his grandmother encouraged Jim's artistic talent.
In 1950, Paul, Sr. bought his family their first television. It was there that Jim first saw ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, the puppet show Kukla, Fran and Ollie and comics Ernie Kovaks and Stan Freburg. They became his inspiration for later life. After he graduated from high school, he attended the University of Maryland. He and a friend, in 1954, got their first job on television at a local station, WTOP. They were puppeteers on the station's morning children's show "The Junior Good Morning Show," working for ten dollars a day.
At school he met Jane Nebel. Together they created a five-minute show that aired twice a day called "Sam and Friends." It premiered on May 9, 1955. The show won a local Emmy. Jim called his hand made puppets, that included a small lizard-like creature made from an old green coat and a Ping-Pong ball named Kermit, Muppets. Muppets was a combination of the words marionette and puppet, coined because that's what his creations were.
The Muppets were flexible hand and rod style puppets that could easily be given human expression. By 1962, the Muppets were regulars on "The Today Show" and Jim moved the business to a house on Manhattan's East Side. Jim and Jane were married in 1959. They formed Muppet, Inc. and began to search for new puppeteering talent. They produced commercials for many companies.
In 1969, Joan Ganz Cooney of the Children's Television Workshop (CTW) asked Henson if he would create Muppets for a new educational children's show called "The Preschool Educational Television Show." She had been told that if she couldn't convince Jim to do it, then they wouldn't have puppets on the show. Jim agreed. The CTW told him that the show was going to be used to try and reach out to underprivileged inner-city youth. The new show would be called "Sesame Street" after the phrase "Open Sesame," an Arabian invitation for discovery.
This show would grow to be seen in over 100 countries and in 14 different languages for over 27 years. Jim realized that children loved commercials and created a show around this idea. Letters and numbers sponsored the episodes. "Sesame Street" was a truly integrated neighborhood. It taught kids to treat everyone equal. He helped teach generations about exit signs, the rules of crossing the street, how a baby's born, what happens when someone dies, how to count, and how to distinguish near and far.
Jim Henson believed that "if you can't find a way to really enjoy what you are doing, why are you doing it?" (Finch 420) He knew that if it could work, he would make it work. He was loved by almost everyone for almost everything he did. Jim overcame his shyness by speaking through his Muppets. He felt he needed to accomplish something. His widow Jane said, "He knew he could make a difference." (Harrigan 96) He felt that hard work was the only way the magic could work, but hard work could be fun. He said "I believe in taking a positive attitude toward the world. My hope is to leave the world a little bit better than when I got here." (Harriagn 96)
On May 15, 1990, Jim entered the hospital with pneumonia. He had thought it was only a bad cold, but when he had trouble breathing Jane convinced him to go. He was put on a ventilator and antibiotics. It was to no avail, however, for Jim died at 1:21 p.m., on May 16. The world was saddened by the great loss of Jim Henson. He requested, in a letter to his children, that no one wear black and that there be a jazz band present at his funeral. He also wanted "a friendly little service of some kind. . .with someone to say a few nice words." (Finch 229) His wish was granted with a service at Manhattan's Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Over 5,000 fans, dressed in bright colors, waved hand painted butterflies, while a Dixie land band played "When the Saints Go Marching In."
Jim Henson's dream lives on with his children. Brian took over for his father as the President of Henson Productions. Cheryl was made Vice President, Lisa is a consultant and Heather and John work for the company.
To me Jim Henson is a radical thinker because he taught generations of children the basics of life. He made us believe the Muppets were flesh and blood creatures. He taught us to respect ourselves and to respect others even though they may be different from us. He also introduced us to a new world of puppetry, one where puppets could be made very life like.
When Jim Henson died, the world lost a great creative force and a great man. In our hearts he will never die. He once said that he wanted to leave the world a better place. As long as a little green frog and a six-foot canary can welcome us with a "Hi-Ho!" and a "Hi there!" to a street called Sesame, we cannot question that he did.
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