Was a good friend of George Lucas, who originally offered him the role of Yoda in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980). He declined and suggested Frank Oz for the part.

Lydia The Tattooed Lady was one of his all time favorite songs. The Muppet performed this song at his memorial service. Henson himself drew the tattoos on the Lydia, The Tattooed Lady muppet used in episode 2 of "The Muppet Show" (1976).

Shares same birthday (September 24) with Steve Whitmire, fellow muppeteer who took over Kermit the Frog after Henson's death.

First met David Lazer when he had been contracted to make a few short puppet films for them. Lazer worked at IBM.

His earliest puppetry influences were Kukla, Fran Allison and Ollie, Bil Baird, and Edgar Bergen.

Attended Northwestern High School in Hyattsville, Maryland.

Harry Belafonte sang the much beloved song "Turn the World Around" from "The Muppet Show" (1976) at Jim's funeral. It was reported to be his favorite.

First met Jerry Juhl at a Puppeteers Of America convention.

Puppeteer.

His funeral was attended by over 1,000 people and Muppet's, including Frank Oz, George Lucas, Richard Curtis, Kermit the Frog, and British producer Lew Grade.

Died the weekend he was going to sell his company to Disney.

A Jim Henson retrospective was held from September 1990 to February 1991 at London's Museum of the Moving Image.

His original name for his puppets was "The Anything People.".

1961: Met Frank Oz in Asilomar, California.

His first television character was called Pierre, the French Rat. It began life as a comic strip drawn by Henson for a high-school publication in 1954.

Before his career in puppetry, he would experiment with 8mm and 16mm film, often making animation.

Attended the University of Maryland, College Park

Created the original Kermit the Frog out of his mother's old coat and a ping-pong ball. In the beginning Kermit was not a frog, but a lizard-like character. He gradually evolved, and first appeared as Kermit The Frog in Hey Cinderella! (1969) (TV) and has remained so ever since.

On a trip to Europe, he saw puppet theater being taken seriously by adults, he returned convinced he could create a puppet TV show which would appeal to adults.

According to an interview with Frank Oz, Jim wanted to direct and produce a film version of Beauty and The Beast in the late 80s, with Tom Cruise playing the handsome prince turned into a beast. The storyboard was very similar to Disney's movie, even with the servants turned into magical objects, when Disney announced their intention on doing an animated version of the fairytale he decided not to go through with it.

Named Kermit the Frog after a childhood friend from Mississippi.

Upon his death it was said that Rowlf the Dog would never be used again, for this was Henson's signature character. As a memorial of sorts Rowlf is seen in a few shots of Muppet Treasure Island (1996). However, out of respect for Jim Henson, he never speaks.

Arrived at his graduation in a Rolls Royce.

Had been ill with walking pneumonia for several days before his death but never told anybody, not even his family, because, true to his character, he didn't want to be a burden to anybody. By the time he finally sought medical help, it was too late to do anything.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991) was dedicated to his memory.

Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume Two, 1986-1990, pages 413-415. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999.

Made his final televised appearance just 12 days before his death on "The Arsenio Hall Show" (1989).

Founded the "UNIMA Citations of Excellence" in 1973 to provide a peer-judged award for the art of puppetry in North America. In 1966, Jim Henson had previously founded (with other American puppeteers) the USA chapter of the Union Internationale de la Marionette (UNIMA) - the world's oldest international theatre arts organization, and served as the USA Chapter's founding chaiman.

Pictured on a USA 37¢ commemorative stamp issued 28 September 2005. The stamp was issued on a single souvenir sheet honoring "Jim Henson, the man behind the Muppets". The souvenir sheet contained 10 additional 37¢ stamps featuring the following Muppet characters: Kermit the Frog; Fozzie Bear; Sam the Eagle; Miss Piggy; Statler and Waldorf; Swedish Chef, Animal; Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker; Rowlf; and The Great Gonzo and Camilla.

Father of Brian Henson, Lisa Henson, Heather Henson, Cheryl Henson and John Henson.

In his early TV shows, he didn't always perform voices, but lip-synched to records of the day.

Once said his earliest artistic influence was his grandmother "Dear". She taught him to value everything he saw around him and to appreciate everything.

One of the main reasons why Henson preferred to use Kermit the Frog for his signature character was that he was the lightest in weight of the regular puppets and therefore one of the most comfortable for use for extended periods of time.

The Wizard of Oz (1939) was one of his favorite films.

Died the same day as Sammy Davis Jr..

Had a hit single singing "Rubber Duckie" as Ernie. "Rubber Duckie" entered the Billboard Top 40 chart for pop/rock in August 1970 and stayed on the chart for seven weeks, peaking at number 16. The 'famous' rubber-duck-squeaking solo in the original version of the song (for the very first "Sesame Street album") is squeaked by the song's writer, Jeff Moss. When the "Sesame Street" (1969) cast appeared in concert with the Boston Pops Orchestra, the rubber duck was considered a percussion instrument. Apparently unwilling to pay musicians to play a 'second instrument,' duck squeaking was limited to the percussion section when the cast sang this song with the Pops (with Big Bird conducting).