Part of J.D.’s Jim Henson Birthday Series
2020 – 2021 – 2022 – 2023 – 2024 – 2025
Happy birthday, Jim Henson!
It’s time once again for me to celebrate this man I never met. Yet, somehow, I feel like he and I have been old friends for a long time. That’s probably because he really put his heart into his work and a little bit of himself into his characters.
It has long been said that Jim and Kermit are a lot alike, and I think there’s truth to that. You can learn a lot about Jim Henson from his frog. In fact, you can learn everything there is to know (that you would want to know) about Jim Henson just from studying the characters he played.
Don’t believe me? Here’s a list of 53 Muppet characters performed by Jim Henson in his 53 years on this planet, with descriptions of each character that tell you something about Jim.
- Kermit the Frog: He was a gentle leader who brought together a lot of amazing people to follow a shared dream of making people happy.
- Rowlf the Dog: He was playful and soulful in equal measure.
- Ernie: He was a bit of a prankster, but his friends knew he loved them.
- Dr. Teeth: He made music that brought people together.
- Guy Smiley: He seemed to have endless energy!
- Cantus: He wasn’t always the easiest to understand, but he had a way of teaching that brought out the best in people.
- Swedish Chef: Han var inte alltid den lättaste att förstå, men han hade ett sätt att lära ut absolut ingenting.
- Waldorf: He had a fondness for old fashioned songs and dances from the days of vaudeville. Wow, look at me go. I even made Waldorf work. Nothing can stop me now.
- Mahna Mahna: Oh dear. Um… he liked jazz?
- Link Hogthrob: He was in charge of stuff?
- Convincing John: He had a talent for making people want to follow his leadership. There we go, I’m back in the groove now.
- Jen (puppetry only): He was a man of few words, more than willing to let somebody else do the talking.
- The Newsman: He worked on The Muppet Show.
- Jim from The Country Trio: He was Jim Henson.
- Sam: He had friends.
- Harry the Hipster: His imagination was illustrated.
- Wilkins: He sold Wilkins Coffee.
- Wontkins: He did not like Wilkins Coffee.
- The King of Eight: He ruled.
- King Goshposh: He ruled.
- King Rupert the Second: He ruled.
- King Ploobis: He ruled.
- King Peter the Persnickety: He ruled.
- King Gerry the Generous: He ruled.
- King Richard the Chicken-Hearted: He ruled.
- King Digitus: He’s really funny in a blooper that was included in the Street Gang documentary, a beautiful film that’s worth watching if you haven’t yet and worth rewatching if you have.
- The King Who Got His Kazoo: He ruled.
- Delbert the La Choy Dragon: He set a lot of things on fire.
- Penguin Who Thought Fozzie Bear and the Snowman Were the Funniest Comedy Team in the Business: He recognized and celebrated talent.
- Captain Vegetable: Eating crunchy vegetables was good for him.
- Harvey Beaver: He encouraged his friends to go against their better judgement to make great entertainment.
- Bugsy Them: He loved when things made no sense what-so-who-ever.
- Leo from The Muppet Show Pitch Reel: He insisted the world needed The Muppet Show, but failed to persuade American TV execs.
- Nigel: He spent even longer insisting the world needed The Muppet Show, but still failed to persuade American TV execs.
- Bip Boppadotta: He sang “Mah Na Mah Na”, but that’s actually not his name.
- Shakey Sanchez (inside Behemoth): Sometimes he was inside Behemoth.
- Granny Fanny Nesslerode: something something symbolic annahilation, just listen to Becca’s podcast.
- Limbo: something something most important Muppet, just read my article from last year.
- Wally from The Muppet Valentine Show: His fashion in the ‘70s was so perfectly ‘70s. I want his shirt.
- George Washington: I don’t get it.
- Baby Kermit in The Muppets Take Manhattan: He was Kermit the Frog.
- Harrison Fox: He made a show in which various Muppet animals performed various acts.
- Bunny Rabbit Who Danced the Wrong Way to “Rainbow Connection” in The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years: He never simply followed the crowd – he found his own way.
- Dog (a.k.a. De-Dop-De-Diddly-Dog Bop): Good boy.
- Charlie the Ogre: He was all legs.
- Cosmo Bopper from Starboppers: I dunno man. Sometimes he just had to bop those stars.
- Coffee Break Machine: He was explosive (with creativity!). Please let me have this one.
- Mean Floyd from The Muppet Musicians of Bremen: He didn’t simply create The Muppets – he revolutionized the puppetry arts.
When he started his career in the 1950s, television shows just pointed a camera at a puppet theater. He realized that you could get rid of the proscenium because the television was the theater. From there, he changed the way puppets were built and performed, establishing practices that have since become the standard. Between such popular shows as Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, and Fraggle Rock, his iconic and beloved characters became household names.
As a filmmaker, he created new worlds that had only existed in his head. As a businessman, he proved that an unlikely career in puppetry could turn into a tremendous financial success, and that a fun and collaborative corporate culture produced better work. He is remembered by his children as a loving father and by his many friends as the original performer of Kermit the Frog.
- Sir Linit: Male.
- Southern Colonel: Southern.
- Scoop: Presented some informal comments to explain exactly how a Muppet commercial is filmed.
- Skip: Put together some film to go with his commentary.
- Scientist Who Saved Time in a Bottle: There never seemed to be enough time to do the things he wanted to do once he found them.
Hmm. Well then. I guess I’m glad I bailed on the original idea to do eighty-nine Muppets for his 89th birthday. I ran out of places to go pretty quickly, even with the help of the super nifty Muppet Wiki page for characters performed by Jim Henson.
Maybe I don’t know Jim Henson as well as I thought I did. Maybe there’s only so much you can get to know a guy from his characters. I do still feel that something about Jim Henson is evident in his work, but I wouldn’t know how to describe it succinctly, and I feel I see just as much of it in his short films made with shapes cut out of paper as I do in his puppet characters.
Whoever Jim Henson is or was, and however many Jim Hensons there may be, I’m happy to be celebrating his birthday once again and thankful for the many, many characters he brought to life.
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By J.D. Hansel
