Jim Henson woke in the early hours of May 15, 1990, struggling for air. He had spent the previous days dismissing what he thought was a cold or the flu, canceling work and trying to rest rather than disrupt his schedule or bother anyone. Now, coughing up blood, he finally agreed to go to the hospital. He arrived at the New York Presbyterian emergency room just before five in the morning.
Doctors found abscesses throughout his lungs, the work of an aggressive group A streptococcal infection. The bacteria had been moving through his body for days, producing toxins that triggered toxic shock syndrome. His organs began failing one after another. He was placed on a ventilator and given massive doses of antibiotics.
The drugs killed most of the bacteria, but the damage was already done. His kidneys and heart shut down. He suffered cardiac arrest, and at 1:21 a. m.
on May 16, 1990, Jim Henson was dead at fifty-three. Doctors later said that if he had sought treatment even a day or two earlier, the outcome might have been different. The infection was sudden and overwhelming. The man who had given the world so much laughter was gone within hours of entering the hospital.
Jim Henson was born on September 24, 1936, in Greenville, Mississippi. He spent his early years in nearby Leland with his parents, Paul and Betty, and his older brother, also named Paul. The family later moved to Hyattsville, Maryland, near Washington, D. C.
As a young man, Jim loved art, storytelling, and the relatively new medium of television. He had never played with puppets as a child and had little interest in traditional puppetry. What he wanted was a way onto television. In high school, he answered an ad for a puppeteer at a local Washington station.
In 1955, while still a freshman at the University of Maryland, he and fellow student Jane Nebel created a five-minute late-night puppet show called Sam and Friends. One of the characters was a lizard-like creature made from his mother’s old green coat and a pair of ping-pong balls for eyes. That character would eventually become Kermit the Frog. The show became a local hit and won a local Emmy for best local entertainment program in 1958.
Jim and Jane co-founded Muppets Incorporated that same year, and they married on May 28, 1959. Throughout the early 1960s, Jim continued to refine his craft through commercials and experimental work. Then came his first major breakthrough. From 1963 to 1966, Rowlf the Dog, performed by Henson himself, became a regular on The Jimmy Dean Show.
Rowlf was billed as Jimmy Dean’s old buddy, a piano-playing, wise-cracking dog who appeared in eighty-five of the show’s eighty-six episodes. It was the first time a Muppet had a regular spot on network television. Rowlf and Dean bantered and sang duets, and the segment became one of the most popular on the program, drawing thousands of fan letters each week. The national exposure gave Jim valuable experience performing live with a human co-star, and the steady income helped fund his other creative projects.
Henson was so grateful that he offered Jimmy Dean a substantial stake in his company. Dean politely declined, saying he had not earned it. In 1969, Henson was invited to create characters for a new children’s educational series called Sesame Street. He was reluctant at first, worried that he would be typecast, but he accepted.
He brought to the show Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Bert, Cookie Monster, Grover, and of course Kermit. He performed many of the key characters himself. Sesame Street became a cultural phenomenon that reached generations of young viewers. In 1976, The Muppet Show premiered, hosted by Kermit and featuring Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, and a parade of celebrity guests.
It became one of the most widely watched television programs in history, reaching hundreds of millions of viewers in more than a hundred countries and winning multiple Emmys. Feature films followed, including The Muppet Movie in 1979 and The Great Muppet Caper. He also directed darker fantasy films, The Dark Crystal in 1982 and Labyrinth in 1986. Beyond the Muppets, he created Fraggle Rock, The Storyteller, and The Jim Henson Hour.
He founded The Jim Henson Foundation and Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. The awards piled up, including Emmys, a Peabody, and later recognition as a Disney Legend. In his personal life, Jim and Jane had five children: Lisa, Cheryl, Brian, John, and Heather. The couple shared a deep creative partnership, but the pressures of fame and Jim’s intense work schedule took a toll.
They separated in 1986 but remained close and never formally divorced. When he became seriously ill in May 1990, Jane was still the first person he turned to. Those who knew him described Jim Henson as kind, collaborative, and optimistic, with a childlike sense of humor, a love of fast cars, and a quiet, private side. Friends and colleagues often called him a gentle genius.
By early 1990, he was at the height of his creative power and in negotiations to sell his company to Disney. Then came the sudden end. The infection that killed him was abrupt and overwhelming. His death came as a shock not only to his family and colleagues but to the millions of people who had grown up with his creations.
After his death, his children carried on the company. The Muppets, Sesame Street, and his many other projects continued to bring joy for decades. His remains were cremated, and in 1992, his ashes were scattered near Taos, New Mexico.
The man behind the magic was gone far too soon, but the world he built endured.