Kermit is silenced again.
Jane Henson, the former wife and collaborator of Muppets creator Jim Henson, died Tuesday after a battle with cancer. She was 78.
According to The Guardian, Jane Henson was involved in the creation of a precursor to The Muppets. She got her start when she and Jim worked on the TV show Sam and Friends, which included characters including, according to Wikipedia, a “lizard-like creature called Kermit who later evolved into Kermit the Frog.”
Jim Henson died in 1990.
In a statement on its website, The Jim Henson Company said:
Jane Nebel Henson met Jim Henson in a puppetry class at the University of Maryland and soon after became an integral creative and business partner in what would become the world famous Muppets.
As a fine arts education major studying at the University of Maryland in 1954, Jane Nebel shared with Jim Henson a unique approach to puppetry that is joyful and sophisticated. While still an undergraduate, Jim Henson was offered a spot on the local NBC affiliate in Washington, D.C., WRC-TV, and asked Jane Nebel to join him as a co performer and creator.
The television show, Sam and Friends, which aired before The Huntley-Brinkley Report and The Tonight Show Starring Steve Allen, in Washington D.C., began to attract an enthusiastic audience. It wasn’t long before the Muppets were making special guest appearances on the top variety shows of the time. Their first national television guest appearance was on Steve Allen’s Tonight Show, the same show that Sam and Friends had preceded. Jane Nebel graduated in 1955, but continued working with Jim Henson at WRC-TV as a performer, puppet designer/ builder, and business partner. In May 1959, Jane Nebel married Jim Henson at her parents’ home in Salisbury, MD.” They had five children.
Jane Henson was involved in the Jim Henson Company, and, the statement said, “actively participated in the company as it became an important global family entertainment organization, collaborating with Jim Henson on a number of projects that included the traveling museum exhibit The Art of The Muppets, and The Muppet Show on Tour and Sesame Street Live arena stage shows. Known for her keen eye for spotting puppeteer talent, Jane also became the point of entry to the company for many top puppeteers.”
Jim and Jane Henson separated in 1986, the statement said, but “Jim and Jane Henson continued to share their love of, and vision for, the Muppets.”
A tribute page celebrating Jane and featuring images from her life can be found at www.henson.com/jane.html. A memorial mass is planned for next week. Donations may be sent in memory of Jane Henson to the following:
- Center for Puppetry Arts
- The Jim Henson Foundation for the support of puppetry
- The Puppetry Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Memorial Theatre Centre
