Jim Henson: The Biography (86 page)

1
The John H. Wilkins Company
Liz Hillenbrand, “Enthusiasm About Coffee Seems Natural to Wilkins,”
Washington Post and Times-Herald
, November 18, 1956.

2
fifteen ten-second coffee commercials
Knight, “Sam and Friends.”

3
“really pretty corny”
Naughton, “Jim Henson and Friends: Where It All Began.”

4
“We took a very different approach”
Inches, 44.

5
Jim really
didn’t
like Wilkins coffee
Jane Henson interview.

6
“The commercials were an immediate hit”
Harris.

7
“sitting through”
George Kennedy, “The Rambler Learns About Muppetry,” undated newspaper clipping (JHCA 14-1092).

8
“This is the biggest thing”
Ibid.

9
“He had the creative ability”
Naughton, “Jim Henson and Friends: Where It All Began.”

10
“the last inch of winding band”
For an example, see the advertisement in
Washington Post and Times-Herald
, November 25, 1958, A8.

11
more than 25,000 pairs
Stacy V. Jones, “Patents Granted for TV Ad Puppets,”
New York Times
, September 19, 1959.

12
“I’m sure it cost them more”
Jane Henson interview.

13
“The funniest thing we have seen in many a moon”
See fan letter to Community Coffee Company, November 16, 1959 (JHCA 14-0156).

14
“[The commercials] got a lot of talk”
Harris. See also Nash contracts (JHCA 14-0192).

15
“That was almost the first voice stuff”
Harris.

16
a future as a painter
Elson, “For Jane and Jim, Muppets Set a Merry Pace.”

17
“continue with the Muppets”
Knight, “Sam and Friends.”

18
“I decided to chuck it all”
JH Quotes.

19
“The station prevailed”
Harris.

20
“He already knew what he was wanting!”
Bob Payne interview.

21
“He had this bar inside him”
Ibid.

22
“wandered over to Europe”
Harris.

23
“But I know the kind of adventures”
Joe Irwin interview.

24
“In Europe”
Smith, “Jim Henson, Creator of Muppets, Dies at 53.”

25
“absolutely marveled,” “[Audiences] were very involved”
Joe Irwin interview.

26
“That was the first time,” “When I traveled around”
Harris.

27
“They were very serious about their work”
JH Quotes.

28
“It was at that point”
Ibid.

29
“ridiculously overcomplicated”
WAMI
, 25.

30
“just a little bit”
Lawrence Laurent, “Story Is Next Lad to Accept the ‘Challenge,’ ”
Washington Post and Times-Herald
, September 2, 1956.

31
“When he came back from Europe”
Jane Henson interview.

32
“I remember an elevator ride”
Ibid.

33
“they weren’t dates”
Ibid.

34
“had an artistic bent”
Joe Irwin interview.

35
“We were very fond”
Jane Henson interview.

36
“From Samson to Delilah”
Inches, 22.

37
“I started painting”
JH Quotes.

38
“about two or three”
Jane Henson, remarks at MuppetFest 2001.

39
“Jim never had me do voices”
Jane Henson interview.

40
“Money cannot measure success”
Keller, “ ‘Muppets’ Win Way,” 14.

41
“My impression”
Matt Neufeld, “Jim Henson Made the World Laugh,”
Washington Times
, May 17, 1990.

42
“What with the Rolls”
WAMI
, 25.

43
his job was recruiting
Brillstein, 48.

44
“Burr, give me a break”
BB, archival interview (Henson Family Properties). 82
“I didn’t want to”
Ibid.

45
“In walked this guy”
Brillstein, 53–54.

46
sign a contract
One such contract, dated October 12, 1961, was discovered among the files for
Mad, Mad World
(JHCA 02-0873).

47
“Acts as oracle”
Inches, 31.

48
“Sam is back!”
See the display ad in the September 12, 1960,
Washington Post and Times-Herald
for a typical example.

49
“marvelous, very outgoing”
Harris.

50
“I never wanted to be a puppeteer”
FO, interviewed by Kenneth Plume, “Interview with Frank Oz,”
http://www.ign.com/articles/2000/02/10/interview-with-frank-oz-part-1-of-4
et seq.

51
“Our house was like a salon”
FO interview.

52
At age fourteen
Ibid. See also Erika Mailman, “Muppet Man Oz Got Start at Children’s Fairyland in Oakland,”
Contra Costa Times
(California), September 17, 2010.

53
which, predictably, he won
FO interview. Sadly, Oz can no longer recall what routine he performed.

54
“they weren’t like anything else!”
FO interview.

55
“He was this very quiet, shy guy”
FO, interviewed by Kenneth Plume.

56
“shy, self-effacing boy”
Ibid.

57
“Sunday Painter”
Jane Henson interview.

58
“He said, ‘The ending is weak!’ ”
FO interview.

59
“He was really still at home”
Harris.

60
“somebody or something”
Being Green
, 44.

61
“I think it was an accident”
Harris.

62
“I never used to go”
FO, interviewed by Kenneth Plume.

63
“The Muppets already had a cult following”
WAMI
, 19.

64
“The things he brought out”
Ibid.

65
“This guy was like a sailor”
Ibid.

66
“develop and expand”
Barbara J. Witt to JH, July 10, 1961 (JHCA 14-0867).

67
“If … one or two of these bits”
“Proposal for USDA Food Fair,” September 20, 1961 (JHCA 14-0867).

68
“a rather ingenious set of mechanical puppets”
Ibid.

69
“revolutionary”
Ibid.

70
“a spectacular feat of entertainment”
Wilbert Schaal to JH, November 30, 1961 (JHCA 14-0867).

71
“the average European impression”
Bonnie Aikman, “DC Studios,”
Sunday Star TV Magazine
(Washington, D.C.), March 4, 1962. While the Henson Archives contain minimal information on these animatronic puppets—only a drawing of the cigar-smoking man exists—Jane remembered them clearly, as did several others, and the
Washington Daily Star
reported briefly on them in its TV magazine.

72
“It was really just half-an-hour”
WAMI
, 31.

73
“You’d see him on little grassy knolls,” “We frogified him”
Ibid., 31, 37.

1
youngest performer to hold
Eide, Cook, and Abrams, 57. As of 2012, Jim still holds the record for serving as the youngest president of the organization.

2
“For puppeteers”
JJ, archival interview.

3
“When you try to sell anyone on puppets”
Gerald Nachman, “How the Muppets Got That Way,”
New York Post
, January 24, 1965.

4
“We have a witch who is delightful”
“Notes on On-Cor Idea” (JHCA 14-0194).

5
Ralph it would be, then
Ralph Freeman to JH, February 20, 1963 (JHCA 14-0198). Jim had appeared on the
Today
show on February 7, 1963, using Ralph and Baskerville in the sketch “Dog Music.” Following the skit, host Hugh Downs engaged the Muppets in conversation, during which they discussed Ralph’s name. “Quite a few of our people saw Ralph and Baskerville on NBC the other day,” Freeman wrote, “and got a big kick out of Hugh Downs’ question as to how Ralph got his name.”

6
“I would generally do a little scribble”
Inches, 50.

7
“That single decision”
WAMI
, 32.

8
“The Magic Triangle”
Ibid.

9
“He always wanted me there”
Ibid.

10
“had more to do with the basic style”
Ibid., 26.

11
“He knew then”
BB, archival interview.

12
“tossed into a cupboard”
JH, “My Life with Rowlf (Or Something Like That)” (JHCA 14-0746, Production Box 57).

13
“We were never told”
Joan Crosby, “Jim Henson and Rowlf Know Just What’s What, Where They’re Going,”
Hartford Times
(Connecticut), February 29, 1964.

14
“Anyone in this business of television”
“Neighbors from
Sesame Street:
A Visit with Jane and Jim Henson,”
Greenwich Social Review
23, no. 8 (November 1970).

15
“totally typical of the way Jim worked”
JJ, archival interview.

16
“wonderful old apartment building”
JJ, interviewed by Paul Eide, “In the Company of Genius,”
The Puppetry Journal
57, no. 1 (Fall 2005): 4.

17
In the main room
FO interview. See also
WAMI
, 35, and JJ, archival interview.

18
“[Our] spaces never looked like offices”
JJ, archival interview.

19
“very serious,” “Having your young son”
FO interview.

20
“This is the room where Jim”
WAMI
, 35.

21
“But I didn’t come to New York to go to school”
FO interview.

22
“began looking at ol’ JD,” “check out”
Dean, 77, 80.

23
ABC was bombarded
“Pooch Came for a Visit … and Hasn’t Left Yet,” ABC Feature Press Release, October 14, 1963 (JHCA 14-0746 Production Folder).

24
“These were old-school guys”
FO interview.

25
“We would spend all week working”
JH Quotes.

26
“really quite simple”
JH, “My Life with Rowlf (Or Something Like That).”

27
“is not to do too much”
FO interview.

28
“As we first had Rowlf set up”
Aldine Bird, “Public Writes, ‘Rowlf’ Stays” (JHCA, assorted press clippings, Jimmy Dean box).

29
“I treated Rowlf like he was real”
Dean, 80. Emphasis in original.

30
over two thousand fan letters
George T. Miller, “Woofing with a Rag Dog,”
New York Times
, April 5, 1964.

31
“It’s been interesting for me”
JH, “My Life with Rowlf (Or Something Like That).”

32
“He’s free-form”
Richard Gehman, “ ‘Lemme Do It Mah Way’: Jimmy Dean Knows What He Wants—and Usually Gets It,”
TV Guide
, circa 1963.

33
“He knew what he was wanting!”
Bob Payne interview.

34
“a rascal,” “That was completely unexpected!”
FO interview.

35
“He was not interested in kids’ stuff,” “I probably felt a lot more uncertain”
JJ, archival interview.

36
“I would have been just as happy”
James W. Young to Roy Dabadie, June 18, 1959 (JHCA 14-0156).

37
“it’s taken years off my life”
James W. Young to John F. Hoag, September 18, 1959 (JHCA 14-0182).

38
“business operations, including supervision”
Agreement with Alden Murray, December 15, 1961 (JHCA 14-0868).

39
“Could you please return”
JH to Roy Dabadie, January 2, 1963 (JHCA 14-0156).

40
“It was slapdash”
Transcript of conference call regarding “The Greenwich Years” exhibit, January 20, 1994 (JHCA).

41
“Until we had the Muppets”
William F. Wright to Russell McElwee, July 7, 1964 (JHCA 14-0152).

42
“We’d usually stay in this little hotel”
FO interview.

43
“Part of what makes the Muppets work”
Ibid.

44
“false start”:
See various camera reports (JHCA 9913).

45
“they
soaked
Wontkins in it”
FO interview.

46
“some pretty high-powered”
JJ, archival interview.

47
“I thought I’d better do something”
JJ, interviewed by Paul Eide, “In the Company of Genius,” 4–5.

48
“The house in Greenwich,” “close enough to be shooed off”
LH interview.

49
“sitting with a storyboard pad”
JJ,
The World of Jim Henson
(documentary), 1994.

50
“came just completely full-blown”
Jane Henson,
The World of Jim Henson
(documentary).

51
“Jim wasn’t a puppeteer”
JJ, archival interview.

52
“the story of an Everyman”
“A Description of
Time Piece
” (JHCA 14-0855).

53
“We didn’t know what was going on,” “There was this storyboard”
“The Greenwich Years” exhibit.

54
“dropping clocks in mud”
JJ, archival interview.

55
“We were all over the place”
“The Greenwich Years” exhibit.

56
“All those
Time Piece
shots,” “a personal piece,” “It came totally from Jim”
Ibid.

57
“all [the] different places”
The World of Jim Henson
(documentary).

58
“repeated cuts from realistic scenes”
“A Description of
Time Piece
.”

59
“was maybe about a second”
The World of Jim Henson
(documentary).

60
“I was … playing,” “Richard Lester did
A Hard Day’s Night
” JH Quotes.

61
“
Time Piece
is about time”
JJ,
The World of Jim Henson
(documentary).

62
“A lot of people want to say something”
Nachman, “How the Muppets Got That Way.”

63
“the possibility of filmic stream of consciousness”
“A Description of
Time Piece
.”

64
“rather weird little movie”
Invitation to
Time Piece
premiere (JHCA
Time Piece
box).

65
“It was Jim pushing the form”
The World of Jim Henson
(documentary).

66
“I don’t think there’s anything”
Laurence D. Kramer, United Artists, to Harry Ufland, William Morris Agency, May 20, 1965 (JHCA
Time Piece
box).

67
“He thought our senses of humor would mesh”
Jerry Nelson, “Jerry Nelson (In His Own Words)—From ‘Halfway Down the Stairs,’ ”
http://e.domaindlx.com/jerrynelson
.

68
“approach things in a calm and kind way”
CH interview.

69
“He just went ashen”
FO interview.

70
“A terrible day”
JJ, archival interview.

71
“I sat in front of that mirror”
FO interview.

72
“The gal started walking away,” “Jim was fearless”
“The Greenwich Years” exhibit.

73
“When he had a vision in his mind”
Jerry Nelson interview.

74
“That’s one of the times”
“The Greenwich Years” exhibit.

75
“Working at the Muppet office was always fun”
FO interview.

76
“I loved the way Don played”
WAMI
, 26.

77
“With typical speed and efficiency”
JH to Franklin Cosmen, Celanese Chemical Company, October 16, 1964 (JHCA 8684).

78
“The Muppets were known”
BH, interviewed by Kenneth Plume, August 9, 2000,
http://movies.ign.com/articles/035/035899p1.html
et seq.

79
“it wasn’t all that big”
Jerry Nelson, “Jerry Nelson (In His Own Words)—From ‘Halfway Down the Stairs.’ ”

80
“We were just kind of this crazy little band”
“The Greenwich Years” exhibit.

81
“They thought the Muppets were a rock group,” “a serious conversation,” “didn’t look very clean cut either”
Ibid.

82
“Someone would have an idea”
FO interview.

83
“I hated those costume things”
“The Greenwich Years” exhibit.

84
“I was blind”
FO interview.

85
“sense of humor and crazy nuttiness”
DL, archival interview (Henson Family Properties).

86
“ecstatic”
JH RB, March 25, 1966 (JHCA 9177).

87
“We made Rowlf a … bungling salesman”
DL, archival interview.

88
“Machines should work”
See the 1967 short “Paperwork Explosion,”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IZw2CoYztk
.

89
“dinky little offices,” “There was this aura of calmness”
DL, archival interview.

90
“We’d do our little bit”
Jerry Nelson, interviewed by Kenneth Plume, March 1, 1999. See
http://www.ign.com/articles/2000/02/10/interview-with-jerry-nelson-part-1-of-4
et seq.

91
“Next thing you know”
Gehman, “ ‘Lemme Do It Mah Way.’ ”

92
“whatever that is”
JH RB, August 27, 1965.

93
“from ‘A frightening look’ ”
“A Description of
Time Piece
.”

94
“such fun!”
Jane Henson interview.

95
“which lessened the dramatic impact of my leaving”
FO, email to the author, March 28, 2011.

96
“I reported for duty” “I came back up the stairs”
FO interview.

97
“Frank Oz is not drafted!”
JH RB, February 18, 1966.

98
“Jim would call me up”
Jerry Nelson, interviewed by Kenneth Plume, “Still Counting: An Interview with Jerry Nelson,” Muppet Central,
http://www.muppetcentral.com/articles/interviews/nelson1.shtml
et seq.

99
“Johnny is not one of those people”
JJ, archival interview.

100
“fair,” “Fairly good”
See JH RB entries for December 31, 1965, and December 12, 1965.

101
“Our material does have a certain similarity”
Nachman, “How the Muppets Got That Way.”

102
“expecting it to lead somewhere,” “We had nothing to do”
WAMI
, 40.

103
“affectionate anarchy”
FO interview.

104
“people at the studio,” “crazy Muppet people”
WAMI
, 40.

105
“What’s interesting”
Diana Birkenfield interview. The pipes can still be seen today as part of the NBC tour at Rockefeller Center.

106
“Good puppetry has a broad range”
Joan Crosby, “Jim Henson and Rowlf Know Just What’s What, Where They’re Going,”
Hartford Times
(Connecticut), February 29, 1964.

107
“He always had those fancy new cars”
LH interview.

108
“Except for
Jimmy Dean
”
WAMI
, 47.

109
“a new concept”
Brochure for Cyclia, circa 1967 (JHCA Cyclia folder).

110
“The idea began”
WAMI
, 46.

111
“a definite prestige atmosphere”
Brochure for Cyclia.

112
“I shot thousands and thousands of feet”
WAMI
, 47.

113
“you couldn’t shoot just random stuff”
FO interview.