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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:01,102 --> 00:00:03,071 Help everyone explore new worlds and ideas. 2 00:00:03,171 --> 00:00:05,239 Support your PBS station. 3 00:00:06,974 --> 00:00:09,577 My name is Jim Henson and I'm a puppeteer. 4 00:00:09,677 --> 00:00:12,646 He just kept wanting to push the boundaries of 5 00:00:12,746 --> 00:00:17,051 what was miraculous and magical and real. 6 00:00:17,151 --> 00:00:20,121 (HENSON SPEAKING) 7 00:00:20,221 --> 00:00:22,056 -I want one that fits. -(CHUCKLES) 8 00:00:22,156 --> 00:00:24,125 Is this the best you can do? 9 00:00:24,225 --> 00:00:27,361 NARRATOR: He was an artist of boundless talent and imagination. 10 00:00:27,461 --> 00:00:31,765 Jim was someone of terrific curiosity, ambition and drive. 11 00:00:31,865 --> 00:00:33,767 He was always going. 12 00:00:33,867 --> 00:00:35,769 He was always working. 13 00:00:35,869 --> 00:00:37,871 He was always on. 14 00:00:37,971 --> 00:00:40,541 Help! 15 00:00:40,641 --> 00:00:44,044 I was undoubtedly a great deal more comfortable... 16 00:00:44,145 --> 00:00:46,046 (HENSON SPEAKING) 17 00:00:47,748 --> 00:00:50,218 Hi-yah! 18 00:00:50,318 --> 00:00:54,122 NARRATOR: Jim Henson's Muppets won the hearts of fans around the world. 19 00:00:54,222 --> 00:00:59,793 He created a family of unforgettable characters. 20 00:00:59,893 --> 00:01:02,663 NARRATOR: Yet, while the Muppets were beloved by millions, 21 00:01:02,763 --> 00:01:06,134 their visionary creator felt restless and confined. 22 00:01:06,234 --> 00:01:11,672 Jim had to fight against this stereotype of, "Muppets are children's things." 23 00:01:11,772 --> 00:01:13,674 He had to fight that battle constantly. 24 00:01:13,774 --> 00:01:17,978 His idea was always to be more experimental as a filmmaker. 25 00:01:18,078 --> 00:01:19,747 That's what he wanted to do. 26 00:01:19,847 --> 00:01:22,350 NARRATOR: Henson's soaring artistic ambition 27 00:01:22,450 --> 00:01:25,153 drove him to pioneering work on the big screen. 28 00:01:25,253 --> 00:01:30,724 Jim's focus became more and more on movies. 29 00:01:30,824 --> 00:01:33,827 NARRATOR: Then, on the verge of a bold, new creative partnership... 30 00:01:35,129 --> 00:01:37,030 His life was cut short. 31 00:01:37,131 --> 00:01:39,200 I was just in shock, in shock. 32 00:01:39,300 --> 00:01:41,735 How? You know, what? What? How? 33 00:01:41,835 --> 00:01:45,839 This is like, "Whoa! The center of our universe is no longer there. 34 00:01:45,939 --> 00:01:47,275 "What's going to happen." 35 00:01:47,375 --> 00:01:49,477 FRANK OZ: What once was can never be again. 36 00:01:49,577 --> 00:01:52,480 It was a Camelot time for us with Jim. 37 00:01:53,614 --> 00:01:55,216 (HENSON SPEAKING) 38 00:01:59,453 --> 00:02:03,191 NARRATOR: This is the story of Jim Henson. 39 00:02:09,930 --> 00:02:11,865 (APPLAUSE) 40 00:02:11,965 --> 00:02:14,668 Thank you! Thank you! Hey, listen, it's another great show, folks. 41 00:02:14,768 --> 00:02:18,206 NARRATOR: With the blockbuster premiere of The Muppet Show in 1976, 42 00:02:18,306 --> 00:02:22,943 Jim Henson finally achieves his dream of prime time Muppet success. 43 00:02:23,043 --> 00:02:24,245 -Piggy, honey? -Hmm? 44 00:02:24,345 --> 00:02:26,580 -You can take the solo. -Yes, my love. 45 00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:29,317 -Here are the Muppets. -(AUDIENCE APPLAUSE) 46 00:02:29,417 --> 00:02:30,718 Hey, what are you doin'? 47 00:02:30,818 --> 00:02:32,853 Oh, I'm taking a course on visual thinking. 48 00:02:32,953 --> 00:02:35,689 It teaches you how to visualize your thoughts. Watch. 49 00:02:35,789 --> 00:02:37,124 Q! 50 00:02:37,225 --> 00:02:40,361 NARRATOR: That dream began during the early years of television. 51 00:02:40,461 --> 00:02:43,096 -Watch! -Hey, a real watch. 52 00:02:43,197 --> 00:02:46,133 As he brought a hip cutting-edge humor to a new medium. 53 00:02:46,234 --> 00:02:47,868 (VOCALIZING) 54 00:02:48,969 --> 00:02:50,771 Gee, I see. 55 00:02:50,871 --> 00:02:54,608 The Muppets were not Sesame Street. 56 00:02:54,708 --> 00:02:59,179 They really did have deep, deep roots in early television, 57 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:03,384 in that kind of off-the-wall, brilliant comedy. 58 00:03:03,484 --> 00:03:04,818 What are the symbols for? 59 00:03:04,918 --> 00:03:06,220 (CLANGING) 60 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:08,356 This is a very symbolic commercial. 61 00:03:08,456 --> 00:03:11,058 Jim was so innovative in television 62 00:03:11,158 --> 00:03:15,629 and was in early television, and was such a presence in variety. 63 00:03:15,729 --> 00:03:18,966 The Muppet characters really paid their dues. 64 00:03:19,066 --> 00:03:20,200 -Cheese. -(CAMERA CLICKING) 65 00:03:20,301 --> 00:03:21,635 Got that? 66 00:03:21,735 --> 00:03:25,739 He created a family of unforgettable characters. 67 00:03:25,839 --> 00:03:30,177 With real feelings and real problems that 68 00:03:30,278 --> 00:03:32,212 audiences could identify with, 69 00:03:32,313 --> 00:03:34,147 that children could identify with, 70 00:03:34,248 --> 00:03:36,384 and grownups could identify with. 71 00:03:36,484 --> 00:03:39,287 * Who said that every wish 72 00:03:39,387 --> 00:03:42,423 * Would be heard and answered 73 00:03:42,523 --> 00:03:47,928 * When wished on the morning star? 74 00:03:48,028 --> 00:03:50,764 NARRATOR: Among those characters was a quirky green frog 75 00:03:50,864 --> 00:03:55,202 with whom Jim Henson became most identified. 76 00:03:55,303 --> 00:03:59,507 * Look what it's done so far 77 00:03:59,607 --> 00:04:01,942 WILLARD SCOTT: Kermit was Jim's soul. 78 00:04:02,042 --> 00:04:04,912 When you heard Kermit speak, that was from Jim's heart. 79 00:04:05,012 --> 00:04:07,014 * What's so amazing that keeps us star gazing 80 00:04:07,114 --> 00:04:10,418 All you have to do is, uh, look at Kermit the Frog. 81 00:04:10,518 --> 00:04:11,919 You know, that's Jim Henson. 82 00:04:12,019 --> 00:04:15,889 He was a little frog growing up in a small-town swamp. 83 00:04:15,989 --> 00:04:20,661 And he had a dream of making millions of people happy, 84 00:04:20,761 --> 00:04:22,896 so he gathered up his friends and went to Hollywood. 85 00:04:22,996 --> 00:04:25,232 And then he shared that dream with other people. 86 00:04:25,333 --> 00:04:27,034 And it got bigger, the more he shared it with. 87 00:04:28,001 --> 00:04:30,538 * Someday we'll find it, 88 00:04:30,638 --> 00:04:33,741 * The rainbow connection 89 00:04:33,841 --> 00:04:38,679 * The lovers, the dreamers and me * 90 00:04:51,992 --> 00:04:54,027 NARRATOR: Jim Henson's fertile imagination 91 00:04:54,127 --> 00:04:58,198 was cultivated in the farmland of rural Mississippi. 92 00:04:58,298 --> 00:05:00,167 BRIAN JONES: Jim always called himself a Mississippi Tom Sawyer, 93 00:05:00,267 --> 00:05:02,436 talked about shooting water moccasins with his BB gun, 94 00:05:02,536 --> 00:05:05,973 sort of had this quiet, country upbringing. 95 00:05:09,343 --> 00:05:11,244 NARRATOR: Born in 1936, 96 00:05:11,345 --> 00:05:13,781 he spent his boyhood in tiny Stoneville, 97 00:05:13,881 --> 00:05:17,851 with his older brother Paul and his parents, Paul and Betty Henson. 98 00:05:17,951 --> 00:05:20,854 The US Department of Agriculture had a big plant 99 00:05:20,954 --> 00:05:23,090 and that's who his father worked for. 100 00:05:23,190 --> 00:05:26,860 NARRATOR: Stoneville isn't far from the larger town of Leland, Mississippi 101 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:30,431 which is itself hardly a bustling metropolis. 102 00:05:30,531 --> 00:05:33,501 Leland was about four or five thousand people. 103 00:05:33,601 --> 00:05:35,102 A typical Southern town. 104 00:05:35,202 --> 00:05:38,772 Every Sunday everything shut down and everybody went to church. 105 00:05:38,872 --> 00:05:41,542 Jim was raised Christian Science, his mother was Christian Science, 106 00:05:41,642 --> 00:05:44,011 his father wasn't really. 107 00:05:44,111 --> 00:05:47,114 So Christian Science sort of shaped his thinking a little bit. 108 00:05:47,214 --> 00:05:50,651 NARRATOR: The Church of Christ Scientist emphasizes healing through faith. 109 00:05:50,751 --> 00:05:55,288 And while Jim's family will seek medical help for serious injury or illness, 110 00:05:55,389 --> 00:05:57,625 they rarely go to a doctor. 111 00:05:57,725 --> 00:06:00,360 He himself did not practice the religion, 112 00:06:00,461 --> 00:06:02,763 but he was very affected by it. 113 00:06:02,863 --> 00:06:06,434 NARRATOR: Jim will avoid seeing doctors for the rest of his life. 114 00:06:06,534 --> 00:06:09,870 An attitude that will have profound consequences. 115 00:06:20,648 --> 00:06:22,916 NARRATOR: There's little to do for entertainment in Leland, 116 00:06:23,016 --> 00:06:26,286 so young Jim finds creative ways to entertain himself. 117 00:06:26,386 --> 00:06:28,489 Jim, as a kid, loved to draw. 118 00:06:28,589 --> 00:06:31,091 And he had, I think at one point, 119 00:06:31,191 --> 00:06:32,593 the idea of being a cartoonist. 120 00:06:34,127 --> 00:06:37,230 Him and his brother were always building something. 121 00:06:37,330 --> 00:06:39,600 They made model airplanes and you name it. 122 00:06:39,700 --> 00:06:42,002 They made a little crystal radio 123 00:06:42,102 --> 00:06:44,938 that you could actually pick up the nearest radio station. 124 00:06:45,038 --> 00:06:49,109 NARRATOR: Among Jim's radio favorites during wartime in the early 1940s 125 00:06:49,209 --> 00:06:51,812 are ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his dummies, 126 00:06:51,912 --> 00:06:54,147 Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. 127 00:06:54,247 --> 00:06:59,953 Charlie and Mortimer are beautifully carved characters in wood. 128 00:07:00,053 --> 00:07:04,057 And, it's very shocking that there's no life in their eyes. 129 00:07:04,157 --> 00:07:07,294 And yet, when my father was operating them, 130 00:07:07,394 --> 00:07:08,762 you thought there was. 131 00:07:08,862 --> 00:07:10,864 Jim was very respectful of my father, 132 00:07:10,964 --> 00:07:15,002 and he dedicated their first movie to the magic of Edgar Bergen. 133 00:07:27,414 --> 00:07:31,952 NARRATOR: In 1948, Jim's dad is reassigned from Mississippi to Maryland. 134 00:07:32,052 --> 00:07:36,690 So 12-year-old Jim and his family move to a suburb of Washington, D.C. 135 00:07:36,790 --> 00:07:38,492 Unlike in the rural south, 136 00:07:38,592 --> 00:07:41,595 many homes have a rare and wondrous modern appliance... 137 00:07:41,695 --> 00:07:43,664 A television. 138 00:07:43,764 --> 00:07:45,699 In the flickering black & white images, 139 00:07:45,799 --> 00:07:48,869 14-year-old Jim sees his future. 140 00:07:48,969 --> 00:07:52,072 What Jim wanted to do more than anything else was work in television. 141 00:07:52,172 --> 00:07:55,075 He didn't care what it was gonna be that got him through the door. 142 00:07:55,175 --> 00:07:57,344 BONNIE ERICKSON: Jim didn't start out as a puppeteer. 143 00:07:57,444 --> 00:08:01,048 How he came into it is just miraculous. 144 00:08:01,148 --> 00:08:03,216 NARRATOR: Jim looks for work at local stations, 145 00:08:03,316 --> 00:08:05,886 but it's not until his senior year in high school 146 00:08:05,986 --> 00:08:08,288 that he finally gets his chance. 147 00:08:08,388 --> 00:08:10,190 JONES: I believe there was a newspaper ad in the Washington newspapers 148 00:08:10,290 --> 00:08:12,760 looking for young people to perform marionettes 149 00:08:12,860 --> 00:08:15,529 on the local CBS affiliate. 150 00:08:15,629 --> 00:08:18,666 ERIKSON: Jim went and got a book, built a couple of puppets, 151 00:08:18,766 --> 00:08:20,734 and then went in and got the job. 152 00:08:20,834 --> 00:08:25,939 It was short lived, but it was the beginning of everything that he did from that time on. 153 00:08:26,039 --> 00:08:29,076 HENSON: It's certainly not a career that one would plan. 154 00:08:29,176 --> 00:08:32,345 You know, you wouldn't decide to become a puppeteer, 155 00:08:32,445 --> 00:08:34,147 I don't think, in your life. 156 00:08:41,488 --> 00:08:45,325 NARRATOR: 17-year-old Jim graduates from high school in June of '54 157 00:08:45,425 --> 00:08:49,462 and makes his first appearance on The Junior Morning Show at WTOP. 158 00:08:49,563 --> 00:08:53,934 Featuring his very first Muppet, Pierre The French Rat. 159 00:08:54,034 --> 00:08:57,537 Jim's soft, expressive Muppets are a revolutionary departure 160 00:08:57,638 --> 00:08:59,539 from TV puppet shows of the time, 161 00:08:59,640 --> 00:09:01,709 like Kukla, Fran & Ollie. 162 00:09:01,809 --> 00:09:04,578 JONES: Jim didn't want painted faces with mouths that didn't move, 163 00:09:04,678 --> 00:09:06,747 like Kukla was that way. 164 00:09:06,847 --> 00:09:08,381 Jim wanted mouths that opened, 165 00:09:08,481 --> 00:09:09,783 he wanted the eyes to look focused. 166 00:09:09,883 --> 00:09:11,351 He figured out the Henson triangle, 167 00:09:11,451 --> 00:09:14,087 it's the relationship between the eyes and the nose. 168 00:09:14,187 --> 00:09:15,956 There's a magic triangle. 169 00:09:16,056 --> 00:09:18,258 Jim would always make sure that that was something 170 00:09:18,358 --> 00:09:21,561 that would focus when a puppet looked to camera. 171 00:09:21,662 --> 00:09:26,600 I love the notion that a piece of felt and two, uh, 172 00:09:26,700 --> 00:09:32,339 ping-pong balls, could turn into something that was alive and seemingly mobile. 173 00:09:32,439 --> 00:09:35,242 LANDIS: Jim gave me this great thing about the Muppets. 174 00:09:35,342 --> 00:09:38,646 Most people when they do puppets, they open their mouth like this, 175 00:09:38,746 --> 00:09:40,413 like, "Hello, how are you?" 176 00:09:40,513 --> 00:09:45,318 He said, "Muppets don't speak the words. They attack the words." 177 00:09:45,418 --> 00:09:49,489 So a Muppet talks like this because he is attacking the word. 178 00:09:49,589 --> 00:09:52,025 Good night, and good luck. 179 00:09:52,125 --> 00:09:54,695 Nobody has ever seen puppets like that, nobody. 180 00:09:54,795 --> 00:09:57,064 Those are completely and utterly new. 181 00:09:58,465 --> 00:09:59,700 NARRATOR: In the summer of '54, 182 00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:02,770 Jim works at NBC affiliate, WRC, 183 00:10:02,870 --> 00:10:07,340 where he creates new Muppets for Circle 4 Ranch with Cowboy Joe Campbell. 184 00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:11,444 Willard Scott works as a deejay and weatherman at the station. 185 00:10:11,544 --> 00:10:15,315 I met Jim when I was 18, he was 17. 186 00:10:15,415 --> 00:10:17,084 NBC wanted to buy the Muppets. 187 00:10:17,184 --> 00:10:19,219 And I gave him some good advice. 188 00:10:19,319 --> 00:10:24,291 I said, "Jim don't you ever, ever sell these characters. They're yours." 189 00:10:24,391 --> 00:10:28,595 NARRATOR: Jim and his Muppets are still appearing on WRC in the fall of '54, 190 00:10:28,696 --> 00:10:30,964 when he enters the University of Maryland. 191 00:10:31,064 --> 00:10:33,633 The shy, quiet, gangly 17-year-old 192 00:10:33,734 --> 00:10:35,869 takes the only puppetry class offered 193 00:10:35,969 --> 00:10:38,939 in the Home Economics department. 194 00:10:39,039 --> 00:10:41,274 CHERYL: It actually was a required course 195 00:10:41,374 --> 00:10:43,911 for a lot of the mostly women, 196 00:10:44,011 --> 00:10:47,447 um, studying art and art therapy and education in art. 197 00:10:47,547 --> 00:10:50,684 Everyone would gravitate to him because he already knew how to do puppetry 198 00:10:50,784 --> 00:10:53,286 and he was already on television doing puppetry. 199 00:10:53,386 --> 00:10:56,423 NARRATOR: Among those gravitating to Jim is Jane Nebel 200 00:10:56,523 --> 00:11:00,327 a 20-year old senior majoring in art and education. 201 00:11:00,427 --> 00:11:03,697 They really enjoyed working with each other and so they, 202 00:11:03,797 --> 00:11:04,932 they started working together. 203 00:11:05,032 --> 00:11:07,868 He hired her immediately to come work for him 204 00:11:07,968 --> 00:11:10,537 and that's how their partnership developed. 205 00:11:10,637 --> 00:11:12,940 Creatively they always got along. 206 00:11:13,040 --> 00:11:16,109 She had a kind of unerring eye for talent 207 00:11:16,209 --> 00:11:19,512 and in a way, Jim Henson was her first discovery. 208 00:11:19,612 --> 00:11:23,751 NARRATOR: Jane joins Jim at WRC in the spring of 1955. 209 00:11:23,851 --> 00:11:26,253 Their chemistry is immediate. 210 00:11:26,353 --> 00:11:29,389 * That old black magic has me in its spell 211 00:11:29,489 --> 00:11:32,893 * That old black magic that you weave so well 212 00:11:32,993 --> 00:11:34,494 They were young together. 213 00:11:34,594 --> 00:11:36,196 They were explosive together. 214 00:11:36,296 --> 00:11:37,965 They had a really wacky sense of humor. 215 00:11:38,065 --> 00:11:41,634 * Aflame with such a burning desire * 216 00:11:41,735 --> 00:11:43,336 SCOTT: They worked behind this curtain. 217 00:11:43,436 --> 00:11:45,438 I always said, "I don't know what went on behind that curtain." 218 00:11:45,538 --> 00:11:47,240 But... (CHUCKLES) 219 00:11:47,340 --> 00:11:50,010 But they ended up getting married and having kids 220 00:11:50,110 --> 00:11:52,445 so something went on behind that curtain we didn't all see. 221 00:11:52,545 --> 00:11:54,381 (APPLAUSE) 222 00:11:54,481 --> 00:11:57,350 NARRATOR: While still a college freshman living at home in May of '55, 223 00:11:57,450 --> 00:12:00,187 Jim creates Sam and Friends for WRC. 224 00:12:01,588 --> 00:12:03,223 Sam and Friends! 225 00:12:03,323 --> 00:12:07,094 NARRATOR: Jim and Jane perform five-minute shows twice a day. 226 00:12:07,194 --> 00:12:10,297 He got to, sort of, create his own show. Decide what the conceit was. 227 00:12:10,397 --> 00:12:13,733 Sam was this sort of vaguely human character who never spoke, 228 00:12:13,834 --> 00:12:15,268 and the friends were these abstract figures 229 00:12:15,368 --> 00:12:17,704 that may or may not have been inside his head. 230 00:12:17,805 --> 00:12:19,506 Why don't you just call me Kermit? 231 00:12:19,606 --> 00:12:22,075 JONES: Kermit came out of that cast of Sam and Friends. 232 00:12:22,175 --> 00:12:24,778 But was sort of a vague, abstract character. 233 00:12:24,878 --> 00:12:26,479 Had his little padded feet, 234 00:12:26,579 --> 00:12:28,248 um, didn't have his frog collar. 235 00:12:28,348 --> 00:12:31,118 Kermit was built out of Jim's mother's coat, 236 00:12:31,218 --> 00:12:33,220 uh, with ping-pong balls for eyes. 237 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:35,222 Help! Help! 238 00:12:35,722 --> 00:12:37,925 Help! 239 00:12:38,025 --> 00:12:39,526 NARRATOR: But it's not just Jim's characters 240 00:12:39,626 --> 00:12:43,263 that make the Muppets a game-changer in the mid-1950s, 241 00:12:43,363 --> 00:12:47,067 it's Jim's use of the TV screen itself. 242 00:12:47,167 --> 00:12:50,337 The difference between what Jim was doing and something like Kukla, Fran and Ollie 243 00:12:50,437 --> 00:12:54,641 is Kukla, Fran and Ollie was a puppet show on television. 244 00:12:54,741 --> 00:12:57,544 What Jim realized is if you're on TV, 245 00:12:57,644 --> 00:13:00,647 the four sides of the TV screen are your puppet theater. 246 00:13:00,747 --> 00:13:02,950 You can bring a puppet in from the left, from the right, 247 00:13:03,050 --> 00:13:04,551 from the top, from the bottom. 248 00:13:04,651 --> 00:13:07,821 It immediately expands the universe that puppet lives in. 249 00:13:20,167 --> 00:13:22,535 NARRATOR: Jane graduates from the University of Maryland 250 00:13:22,635 --> 00:13:24,204 in the summer of '55, 251 00:13:24,304 --> 00:13:27,407 along with Jim's brother, Paul, who joins the Navy. 252 00:13:27,507 --> 00:13:31,278 Paul is stationed in Florida for training as a Navy pilot. 253 00:13:31,378 --> 00:13:35,148 Meanwhile, Jim and Jane's Muppets are a local comedy sensation. 254 00:13:35,248 --> 00:13:37,918 SCOTT: Everybody watched the Muppets in Washington. 255 00:13:38,018 --> 00:13:41,488 It put a smile on your face and made you happy. 256 00:13:41,588 --> 00:13:45,258 NARRATOR: By 1956, beat poetry, jazz, and rock & roll 257 00:13:45,358 --> 00:13:48,561 are shaking up the staid conformity of post-war America. 258 00:13:48,661 --> 00:13:51,631 And Jim's Muppets are on the comic cutting-edge. 259 00:13:51,731 --> 00:13:54,534 There are two young college students, uh, Jim Henson and Jane Nebel. 260 00:13:54,634 --> 00:13:57,905 They got together and they formed the Muppets. 261 00:13:58,005 --> 00:14:00,240 Black Bart is coming in on the next stage! 262 00:14:00,340 --> 00:14:02,876 Mac, what are you doing under the desk? 263 00:14:02,976 --> 00:14:06,279 NARRATOR: They appear as guests on late night talk and variety shows, 264 00:14:06,379 --> 00:14:09,282 playing to a sophisticated adult audience. 265 00:14:09,382 --> 00:14:12,485 My next move will be your last, Black Bart! 266 00:14:12,585 --> 00:14:14,321 Just try it! 267 00:14:14,421 --> 00:14:16,089 Okay, here it comes. 268 00:14:16,189 --> 00:14:18,325 My pawn takes your bishop. Checkmate! 269 00:14:18,425 --> 00:14:20,093 Oh, you got me, Marshal. 270 00:14:20,193 --> 00:14:24,331 NARRATOR: But as his professional career is taking off in the spring of '56, 271 00:14:24,431 --> 00:14:27,334 Jim suffers a deeply personal loss, 272 00:14:27,434 --> 00:14:31,471 when his brother, Paul, dies of injuries suffered in a car accident. 273 00:14:31,571 --> 00:14:33,740 CHERYL: Anytime you're faced with death 274 00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:37,377 that life and the time that you have here 275 00:14:37,477 --> 00:14:40,047 on this Earth become that much more precious 276 00:14:40,147 --> 00:14:42,315 and I do feel like my father 277 00:14:42,415 --> 00:14:44,284 felt that this life was precious 278 00:14:44,384 --> 00:14:48,455 and that the time that we have is never enough. 279 00:14:48,555 --> 00:14:53,326 And he was always making, making, doing, doing, making. 280 00:14:53,426 --> 00:14:56,263 And I think there was a sense of wanting to live in the present. 281 00:14:58,065 --> 00:15:00,233 NARRATOR: Jim is indeed making and doing, 282 00:15:00,333 --> 00:15:03,136 turning to work to cope with the loss of his brother 283 00:15:03,236 --> 00:15:06,673 and adding to his ever-increasing workload. 284 00:15:06,773 --> 00:15:09,009 Let's go up to the surface for some Wilkins Coffee. 285 00:15:09,109 --> 00:15:10,944 -I never touch the stuff. -(GULPS) 286 00:15:11,044 --> 00:15:13,113 You should, it's a whale of a coffee! 287 00:15:13,213 --> 00:15:16,183 NARRATOR: Jim makes his first commercials in 1957 288 00:15:16,283 --> 00:15:20,053 for the Washington, D.C. based Wilkins Coffee Company. 289 00:15:20,153 --> 00:15:22,089 When did you have your last cup of Wilkins? 290 00:15:22,189 --> 00:15:24,024 My last cup wasn't Wilkins. 291 00:15:24,691 --> 00:15:26,059 He's had his last cup. 292 00:15:26,159 --> 00:15:27,995 One of the people who was putting together the commercials 293 00:15:28,095 --> 00:15:29,896 had seen Sam and Friends, 294 00:15:29,997 --> 00:15:31,831 liked it, thought it was hilarious, 295 00:15:31,931 --> 00:15:34,801 really wanted to take that sort of mentality and put it into commercials. 296 00:15:34,901 --> 00:15:36,736 -Got your parachute? -I forgot it. 297 00:15:36,836 --> 00:15:37,971 How about the Wilkins Coffee? 298 00:15:38,071 --> 00:15:39,472 I forgot that too. 299 00:15:40,573 --> 00:15:42,075 You'll never forget this. 300 00:15:42,175 --> 00:15:44,277 Everything always ended with an explosion, 301 00:15:44,377 --> 00:15:46,213 something really outrageous. 302 00:15:47,414 --> 00:15:49,449 JONES: Once the Wilkins commercials caught on, 303 00:15:49,549 --> 00:15:52,485 people selling coffee in Boston and Louisiana 304 00:15:52,585 --> 00:15:54,454 wanted the Muppets selling their coffee. 305 00:15:54,554 --> 00:15:56,689 Want some Red Diamond Coffee with your pie? 306 00:15:56,789 --> 00:15:58,558 No, just give me the pie. 307 00:15:58,658 --> 00:16:00,893 The numbers for Kraml Milk, once the Muppets started selling it, 308 00:16:00,994 --> 00:16:02,429 apparently went through the ceiling. 309 00:16:02,529 --> 00:16:04,564 Want some Kraml Milk with your dinner? 310 00:16:04,664 --> 00:16:06,899 No, give me some water. 311 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:09,002 The commercials are paying the bills. 312 00:16:09,102 --> 00:16:12,705 And it really sort of gave him the opportunity to buy his artistic freedom. 313 00:16:21,948 --> 00:16:24,484 NARRATOR: Eager to move forward in his life and career. 314 00:16:24,584 --> 00:16:27,454 Jim incorporates his company as Muppets, Inc. 315 00:16:27,554 --> 00:16:31,991 And on May 28, 1959 he and Jane are married. 316 00:16:32,092 --> 00:16:34,694 He said, we're going to build this company and we're going to get married 317 00:16:34,794 --> 00:16:38,031 and you know, sort of laid out their agenda for the next decade. 318 00:16:38,131 --> 00:16:42,269 NARRATOR: Jim is a prodigiously successful college senior in 1960, 319 00:16:42,369 --> 00:16:46,039 having earned over $100,000 in the past year. 320 00:16:46,139 --> 00:16:49,642 In May, Jim and Jane's first child, Lisa, is born 321 00:16:49,742 --> 00:16:52,679 and later that year, the Muppets make their first appearance 322 00:16:52,779 --> 00:16:54,514 on NBC's Today Show. 323 00:16:54,614 --> 00:16:56,816 They're called Muppets because they're neither puppets nor marionettes 324 00:16:56,916 --> 00:16:58,785 but kind of a combination. 325 00:16:58,885 --> 00:17:02,122 I'm honored to be in the studio with two very distinguished NBC newsmen. 326 00:17:02,222 --> 00:17:03,490 First we have... 327 00:17:03,590 --> 00:17:06,159 Chet Huntley, NBC News, New York. 328 00:17:06,259 --> 00:17:08,595 From my very early childhood I remember 329 00:17:08,695 --> 00:17:13,366 the feel and the smells and sounds of the puppet workshop. 330 00:17:13,466 --> 00:17:15,068 Well, what would you like me to call you? 331 00:17:15,168 --> 00:17:16,236 Chet Huntley. 332 00:17:16,336 --> 00:17:18,138 Oh, okay, Chet Huntley. 333 00:17:18,238 --> 00:17:21,974 We could see the latest appearance on a variety show or Ed Sullivan. 334 00:17:22,075 --> 00:17:23,643 This program is come to you from... 335 00:17:23,743 --> 00:17:25,445 NBC News, New York. 336 00:17:25,545 --> 00:17:27,547 No, no. This program is coming from... 337 00:17:27,647 --> 00:17:29,349 NBC News, Washington. 338 00:17:29,449 --> 00:17:30,683 New York. 339 00:17:30,783 --> 00:17:31,918 -Washington. -New York. 340 00:17:32,018 --> 00:17:33,320 Washington. 341 00:17:33,420 --> 00:17:35,122 NARRATOR: Flush with early success, 342 00:17:35,222 --> 00:17:38,725 Jim drives to his June 1960 college commencement 343 00:17:38,825 --> 00:17:41,628 in a Rolls Royce bought with Muppet money. 344 00:17:41,728 --> 00:17:43,963 CHERYL: He had a wife, he had a baby, 345 00:17:44,063 --> 00:17:45,865 he owned his own house 346 00:17:45,965 --> 00:17:49,068 and he drove that Rolls Royce to his college graduation 347 00:17:49,169 --> 00:17:51,037 to pick up his degree in home economics 348 00:17:51,138 --> 00:17:53,340 and there you go, he was a self-made man. 349 00:17:58,345 --> 00:18:00,947 I met Jim when I was 17 years old 350 00:18:01,047 --> 00:18:04,417 and Jim was in his early 20s. (CHUCKLES) 351 00:18:04,517 --> 00:18:07,287 NARRATOR: In 1960, Jim meets Frank Oznowicz 352 00:18:07,387 --> 00:18:10,022 at a puppeteer conference in California. 353 00:18:10,123 --> 00:18:12,325 Jim asks him to join his Muppet team, 354 00:18:12,425 --> 00:18:14,827 but the teenager is still in high school. 355 00:18:14,927 --> 00:18:17,430 After graduation in 1963, 356 00:18:17,530 --> 00:18:20,433 Frank Oz begins work at Muppets, Inc. 357 00:18:20,533 --> 00:18:24,304 I remember being in front of a mirror with Jane Henson and Jim 358 00:18:24,404 --> 00:18:28,308 teaching me how to do the Muppets lip-sync technique. 359 00:18:28,408 --> 00:18:31,744 I didn't do voices for about four years. I was too scared. 360 00:18:31,844 --> 00:18:33,180 Jim was about to give up on me. 361 00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:35,114 NARRATOR: But he didn't. 362 00:18:35,215 --> 00:18:37,250 Take off that moustache! 363 00:18:37,350 --> 00:18:38,985 Take off that... (GRUNTS) 364 00:18:39,085 --> 00:18:40,953 Double... Double-face tape. 365 00:18:41,053 --> 00:18:42,955 Take that tape off. (GRUNTS) 366 00:18:43,055 --> 00:18:45,725 The story of the Muppets is the story of Jim and Frank 367 00:18:45,825 --> 00:18:47,627 as this incredible, 368 00:18:47,727 --> 00:18:50,930 uh, once in a lifetime comedy duo. 369 00:18:51,030 --> 00:18:54,000 OZ: Jim was the boss, but he was my best friend, too, 370 00:18:54,100 --> 00:18:56,636 and I know how 371 00:18:56,736 --> 00:19:00,240 devastating his brother's loss was to him. 372 00:19:00,340 --> 00:19:02,609 CHERYL: My dad had an older brother who died 373 00:19:02,709 --> 00:19:05,678 and I think that having a younger brother like Frank 374 00:19:05,778 --> 00:19:07,747 was just fantastic. 375 00:19:07,847 --> 00:19:10,583 Their relationship was very much like brothers. They're competitive, 376 00:19:10,683 --> 00:19:12,885 they're feisty, they're funny... 377 00:19:12,985 --> 00:19:14,987 -Get your hand off me. -(CHUCKLES) 378 00:19:15,087 --> 00:19:18,258 It's the sort of relationship that has highs and lows, 379 00:19:18,358 --> 00:19:20,193 and you have times when you work very well together 380 00:19:20,293 --> 00:19:24,697 and times when, you know, you're slightly brushing against each other. 381 00:19:24,797 --> 00:19:27,934 It's like a marriage, you have fights sometimes. (CHUCKLES) 382 00:19:28,034 --> 00:19:30,102 But Jim was extraordinary in that 383 00:19:30,203 --> 00:19:33,640 we would always allow me to voice my opinion. 384 00:19:33,740 --> 00:19:36,543 I think he should have fired me many times. He was extraordinarily patient. 385 00:19:37,176 --> 00:19:38,645 (SCREAMS) 386 00:19:38,745 --> 00:19:41,748 Now there was such a closeness that I can't explain. 387 00:19:41,848 --> 00:19:45,318 NARRATOR: Another key team member is puppeteer, Jerry Juhl. 388 00:19:45,418 --> 00:19:47,887 Who takes over for Jane on Sam and Friends 389 00:19:47,987 --> 00:19:51,691 when daughter Cheryl is born in August of '61. 390 00:19:51,791 --> 00:19:53,726 CHERYL: Most of my childhood memories 391 00:19:53,826 --> 00:19:56,296 with my dad are more about making things 392 00:19:56,396 --> 00:19:58,331 and also about telling stories. 393 00:19:58,431 --> 00:19:59,932 NARRATOR: Restless to tell new stories, 394 00:20:00,032 --> 00:20:01,601 Jim ends Sam and Friends 395 00:20:01,701 --> 00:20:04,604 successful 6-year run in December of '61 396 00:20:04,704 --> 00:20:07,307 to pursue more ambitious projects. 397 00:20:07,407 --> 00:20:11,143 He tapes the TV special Tales of the Tinkerdee in 1962 398 00:20:11,244 --> 00:20:15,348 and continues to appear on daytime and late-night TV shows. 399 00:20:15,448 --> 00:20:18,217 All the while, his commercial work flourishes. 400 00:20:18,318 --> 00:20:21,087 Try Purina Dog Chow, right? 401 00:20:21,187 --> 00:20:22,889 Right. 402 00:20:22,989 --> 00:20:25,458 NARRATOR: Jim hires puppetmaker, Don Sahlin, 403 00:20:25,558 --> 00:20:28,060 who builds Rowlf the Dog for Purina. 404 00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:30,997 The first of countless numbers of Muppets Sahlin will build 405 00:20:31,097 --> 00:20:33,333 over the next 15 years. 406 00:20:33,433 --> 00:20:39,005 I'm the Muppets big, lovable, shaggy dog, Rowlf on ABC's The Jimmy Dean Show. 407 00:20:39,105 --> 00:20:41,474 NARRATOR: Rowlf joins country music singer Jimmy Dean 408 00:20:41,574 --> 00:20:44,544 on his weekly variety show in 1963. 409 00:20:44,644 --> 00:20:46,746 -Where's that other dumbbell? -Hi! 410 00:20:46,846 --> 00:20:50,049 And the Muppets make the jump from late night and morning show guests 411 00:20:50,149 --> 00:20:52,419 to prime time TV stars. 412 00:20:52,519 --> 00:20:53,953 -Ready, here we go! -(BELL DINGS) 413 00:20:54,053 --> 00:20:55,187 (GROWLING) 414 00:20:55,288 --> 00:20:56,789 Would you cut it out? 415 00:20:56,889 --> 00:20:58,691 Rowlf, no bitin'. 416 00:20:58,791 --> 00:20:59,959 No bitin'? 417 00:21:00,059 --> 00:21:01,894 You're taking away my best punch. 418 00:21:01,994 --> 00:21:03,896 NARRATOR: With seemingly boundless energy, 419 00:21:03,996 --> 00:21:07,800 Jim performs Rowlf every week while directing his expanding empire. 420 00:21:07,900 --> 00:21:10,370 The Muppets have been seen often on such network shows 421 00:21:10,470 --> 00:21:13,773 as Jack Paar, Johnny Carson, Steve Allen 422 00:21:13,873 --> 00:21:17,944 Arthur Godfrey, Today, and Al Hirt's Fanfare. 423 00:21:18,044 --> 00:21:19,812 And this fall we're gonna do The Hollywood Palace 424 00:21:19,912 --> 00:21:21,881 and The Perry Como Christmas Show. 425 00:21:21,981 --> 00:21:23,716 NARRATOR: Amid all the Muppet madness, 426 00:21:23,816 --> 00:21:27,654 Jane gives birth to their son Brian in November of '63. 427 00:21:27,754 --> 00:21:30,022 Half of the time that I saw my dad 428 00:21:30,122 --> 00:21:33,426 when I was a young kid, was being at the studios while he was working. 429 00:21:33,526 --> 00:21:36,195 Or being at the workshop while he was building puppets. 430 00:21:36,295 --> 00:21:38,531 He was always working. 431 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:45,372 NARRATOR: The mid-1960s are a time of bold experiments in art and movies, 432 00:21:45,472 --> 00:21:47,507 and while his Muppet business is booming, 433 00:21:47,607 --> 00:21:51,344 Jim is driven to be more than just a popular puppeteer. 434 00:21:51,444 --> 00:21:53,513 Jim always loved film. He always wanted to do a film. 435 00:21:53,613 --> 00:21:55,448 (COUGHS) 436 00:21:55,548 --> 00:21:58,385 He made a film called Time Piece that I saw at the LA County Museum of Art, 437 00:21:58,485 --> 00:22:00,319 and I remember going, "That's Jim Henson!" 438 00:22:00,420 --> 00:22:02,154 "That's the puppet Jim Henson." 439 00:22:02,254 --> 00:22:04,524 CHERYL: Time Piece is so much my father. 440 00:22:04,624 --> 00:22:08,194 It is right in where his head was 441 00:22:08,294 --> 00:22:11,163 and you watch that and you go "Okay, that is his autobiography." 442 00:22:11,263 --> 00:22:12,699 (GROWLS) 443 00:22:12,799 --> 00:22:15,167 (TARZAN YELL) 444 00:22:15,267 --> 00:22:17,670 So, if you really want to know about my dad, watch Time Piece. 445 00:22:18,337 --> 00:22:20,039 Help. 446 00:22:20,139 --> 00:22:22,074 NARRATOR: Time Piece earns an Academy Award nomination 447 00:22:22,174 --> 00:22:24,644 for short film in 1965. 448 00:22:24,744 --> 00:22:27,447 But it's Jim's next project that will change his life. 449 00:22:27,547 --> 00:22:31,050 And the lives of generations of children all over the world. 450 00:22:37,424 --> 00:22:39,726 NARRATOR: In 1966, the Carnegie Institute 451 00:22:39,826 --> 00:22:42,328 sponsors a study that leads to the formation 452 00:22:42,429 --> 00:22:44,296 of the Children's Television Workshop. 453 00:22:44,397 --> 00:22:46,666 They knew they wanted to do something that kids would respond to, 454 00:22:46,766 --> 00:22:48,435 they wanted it to be fast paced, 455 00:22:48,535 --> 00:22:50,770 they wanted a children's Laugh-In essentially. 456 00:22:50,870 --> 00:22:52,639 NARRATOR: Led by Joan Ganz Cooney, 457 00:22:52,739 --> 00:22:54,974 the Children's Television Workshop is developed 458 00:22:55,074 --> 00:22:58,778 amid social and political upheaval. 459 00:22:58,878 --> 00:23:02,515 Martin Luther King was killed, Robert Kennedy was killed, 460 00:23:02,615 --> 00:23:07,687 the Vietnam War protests were reaching a crescendo. 461 00:23:07,787 --> 00:23:11,458 It was a really scary time. 462 00:23:14,193 --> 00:23:16,362 NARRATOR: Director Jon Stone recommends Henson 463 00:23:16,463 --> 00:23:21,200 to Ganz Cooney for their new children's TV project, Sesame Street. 464 00:23:21,300 --> 00:23:24,904 Jim was very reluctant at first 465 00:23:25,004 --> 00:23:27,740 because he was concerned that he would be trapped 466 00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:29,842 as a little children's producer. 467 00:23:29,942 --> 00:23:33,045 OZ: His idea was always to be more experimental 468 00:23:33,145 --> 00:23:35,815 as a filmmaker, that's what he wanted to do. 469 00:23:35,915 --> 00:23:39,819 We talked about it, that this is not where he wants to be, 470 00:23:39,919 --> 00:23:43,422 with Sesame Street, but he will go with it 471 00:23:43,523 --> 00:23:45,592 because he sees value in it and out of that value 472 00:23:45,692 --> 00:23:48,561 could come other value. 473 00:23:48,661 --> 00:23:52,965 NARRATOR: So, in 1969, Jim joins the visionary team at Sesame Street. 474 00:23:53,065 --> 00:23:58,638 * Sunny day Sweepin' the clouds away * 475 00:23:58,738 --> 00:24:00,807 NARRATOR: His first Muppet characters for the show 476 00:24:00,907 --> 00:24:03,643 are a duo played by Jim and Frank Oz. 477 00:24:03,743 --> 00:24:06,579 I'm never going to eat cookies in my bed again. 478 00:24:06,679 --> 00:24:08,848 BERT: Okay, good. What are you doing? 479 00:24:08,948 --> 00:24:10,382 I'm gonna eat cookies in your bed, Bert. 480 00:24:10,483 --> 00:24:13,385 Ernie and Bert have this funny relationship 481 00:24:13,486 --> 00:24:15,087 that has developed over the years. 482 00:24:15,187 --> 00:24:18,591 It has something to do with Frank and I, I'm sure. 483 00:24:18,691 --> 00:24:22,328 OZ: Bert is not me, Ernie is not Jim, 484 00:24:22,428 --> 00:24:26,499 but there's an aspect of Jim in Ernie and an aspect of Bert in me. 485 00:24:26,599 --> 00:24:29,401 At that time, I was very neurotic and very uptight, 486 00:24:29,502 --> 00:24:31,771 so it fit perfectly for Bert. 487 00:24:31,871 --> 00:24:35,775 Jim was always playful, so it fit perfectly for Ernie. 488 00:24:35,875 --> 00:24:39,345 FRAN BRILL: The chemistry between them was just fantastic. 489 00:24:39,445 --> 00:24:41,714 They were a great Abbott and Costello, 490 00:24:41,814 --> 00:24:43,783 Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, whatever team, 491 00:24:43,883 --> 00:24:46,085 they were right up there with all of those guys. 492 00:24:47,186 --> 00:24:48,454 Ta-da! 493 00:24:48,555 --> 00:24:49,756 -Ernie. -Yes? 494 00:24:49,856 --> 00:24:52,191 You've ruined my whole day! 495 00:24:52,291 --> 00:24:53,926 Hi-ho, Kermit the Frog here. 496 00:24:54,026 --> 00:24:56,228 NARRATOR: Other characters are soon brought into play, 497 00:24:56,328 --> 00:24:59,666 including a frog who Jim has been operating and voicing 498 00:24:59,766 --> 00:25:01,934 since the early 1950s. 499 00:25:02,034 --> 00:25:05,838 Jim had a piece with Kermit telling kids what it's like to be a frog. 500 00:25:05,938 --> 00:25:08,007 Uh, frogs live in apartment houses 501 00:25:08,107 --> 00:25:10,977 with, uh, furniture and televisions sets. 502 00:25:11,077 --> 00:25:13,946 And I said, "Well, Kermit, that's, that's not exactly what all frogs do. 503 00:25:14,046 --> 00:25:16,348 "I happen to have a Giant American Bullfrog here..." 504 00:25:16,448 --> 00:25:17,784 My goodness. 505 00:25:17,884 --> 00:25:20,019 Jim's head happened to be right below 506 00:25:20,119 --> 00:25:22,021 where I was holding the bullfrog. 507 00:25:22,121 --> 00:25:23,656 (CROAKING) 508 00:25:23,756 --> 00:25:25,858 Mr. Froggie went a-peeing on Jim's head. 509 00:25:25,958 --> 00:25:27,293 (HUMMING) 510 00:25:27,393 --> 00:25:28,561 (CROAKS) 511 00:25:28,661 --> 00:25:30,229 And I thought for sure he'd say "cut" but 512 00:25:30,329 --> 00:25:33,499 he finished the piece and then we both looked at each other 513 00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:38,170 (LAUGHING) and he was dripping and we had an enormous laugh. And it was a take. 514 00:25:38,270 --> 00:25:40,907 I think Kermit made himself a new friend today. 515 00:25:41,007 --> 00:25:43,876 Getting to know Jim was a really special thing. 516 00:25:43,976 --> 00:25:48,314 He was so, uh, warm and outgoing and understanding. 517 00:25:48,414 --> 00:25:49,916 He was not like a boss. 518 00:25:50,016 --> 00:25:52,885 He told me he wanted me to run two characters. 519 00:25:52,985 --> 00:25:55,554 Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch. 520 00:25:55,655 --> 00:26:00,727 Everyone on Sesame Street is always talking about love. Yuck. 521 00:26:00,827 --> 00:26:04,463 Big Bird is kind of a child who hopes people like him. 522 00:26:04,563 --> 00:26:05,598 Oh, it's just silly saying, 523 00:26:05,698 --> 00:26:07,033 "Hi, I'm Big Bird." 524 00:26:07,133 --> 00:26:10,703 'Cause people can plainly see that I'm just a big bird. 525 00:26:10,803 --> 00:26:14,807 Jim gave me this little pink puppet that already existed. 526 00:26:14,907 --> 00:26:17,509 She was renamed Prairie Dawn. 527 00:26:17,610 --> 00:26:20,179 That became the first legitimately 528 00:26:20,279 --> 00:26:23,082 female puppet character on Sesame Street. 529 00:26:23,182 --> 00:26:24,550 -Prairie. -Yes? 530 00:26:24,651 --> 00:26:26,853 What kind of cookies are those there? 531 00:26:26,953 --> 00:26:31,057 -Oh, well, Cookie Monster, these are oatmeal cookies. -(GASPS) 532 00:26:31,157 --> 00:26:34,426 We were just really encouraged to go for it. 533 00:26:34,526 --> 00:26:36,562 To be as silly and idiotic 534 00:26:36,663 --> 00:26:39,766 and stupid as you possibly could. 535 00:26:39,866 --> 00:26:41,500 (SHOUTING) Cookies! 536 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:44,536 (GOBBLING) 537 00:26:44,637 --> 00:26:47,173 The show was an overnight success. 538 00:26:47,273 --> 00:26:49,976 The country and the world had never seen before 539 00:26:50,076 --> 00:26:52,444 anything like these Muppets. 540 00:26:52,544 --> 00:26:54,280 Jim was very proud, of course 541 00:26:54,380 --> 00:26:57,516 of the work that was done on Sesame Street. 542 00:26:57,616 --> 00:26:59,451 But you could feel him kind of bursting 543 00:26:59,551 --> 00:27:02,955 in his quiet Jim "Hmm" way 544 00:27:03,055 --> 00:27:07,093 to take that energy and move it into other arenas. 545 00:27:07,193 --> 00:27:09,996 I said, "Trust me, Jim, it's just around the corner, 546 00:27:10,096 --> 00:27:14,100 "you're not gonna be stuck in little kiddie entertainment." 547 00:27:15,034 --> 00:27:17,203 The Ramadar. 548 00:27:17,303 --> 00:27:20,873 NARRATOR: Determined not be pigeonholed by the success of Sesame Street, 549 00:27:20,973 --> 00:27:24,243 Jim continues his experimental projects. 550 00:27:24,343 --> 00:27:27,279 He did shows for NBC, one's called The Cube... 551 00:27:27,379 --> 00:27:28,981 Hello. 552 00:27:29,081 --> 00:27:31,117 Sort of this avant-garde Twilight Zone- type episode 553 00:27:31,217 --> 00:27:32,551 of a man trapped inside a cube 554 00:27:32,651 --> 00:27:35,121 and you don't know what's real and you don't know what's not. 555 00:27:35,221 --> 00:27:36,455 I'm still in the cube! 556 00:27:36,555 --> 00:27:39,325 Of course you're in the cube, but you're healthy and happy. 557 00:27:39,425 --> 00:27:42,128 NARRATOR: But while Jim craves new creative outlets, 558 00:27:42,228 --> 00:27:44,130 it's the Muppets who are in demand. 559 00:27:44,230 --> 00:27:48,434 By 1971, Jim is juggling a third season of Sesame Street, 560 00:27:48,534 --> 00:27:51,537 guest appearances on prime time variety shows, 561 00:27:51,637 --> 00:27:55,674 and a syndicated TV special, Muppet Musicians of Bremen. 562 00:27:55,775 --> 00:28:00,412 In 1973, the Muppet Valentine special tapes at ABC in New York. 563 00:28:00,512 --> 00:28:03,615 It's executive Michael Eisner's first project with Jim. 564 00:28:03,716 --> 00:28:06,685 EISNER: There's some people you call and when they answer the phone 565 00:28:06,786 --> 00:28:09,521 it's like, "Oh, I'm so glad you called, 566 00:28:09,621 --> 00:28:11,257 "let's have a conversation." 567 00:28:11,357 --> 00:28:15,027 Jim Henson was somebody that you always felt wanted to be engaged. 568 00:28:15,127 --> 00:28:17,764 And if the conversation turned into something creative it was even better. 569 00:28:18,831 --> 00:28:20,733 The Muppets Valentine Show! 570 00:28:20,833 --> 00:28:23,302 And that was really a pilot in disguise for ABC. 571 00:28:23,402 --> 00:28:24,336 For a weekly show. 572 00:28:24,436 --> 00:28:27,039 L-O-V-E. 573 00:28:27,139 --> 00:28:28,941 Now what can we say about love? 574 00:28:29,041 --> 00:28:30,943 NARRATOR: When Jim's sweet Valentine's special 575 00:28:31,043 --> 00:28:33,379 doesn't lead to a weekly series, 576 00:28:33,479 --> 00:28:37,149 he takes an edgier approach with his next ABC pilot, 577 00:28:37,249 --> 00:28:40,152 striving for that elusive hit formula. 578 00:28:40,252 --> 00:28:44,590 ANNOUNCER: Presenting the end of Sex and Violence on television. 579 00:28:44,690 --> 00:28:46,993 -(LOUD EXPLOSION) -(LAUGHING MANIACALLY) 580 00:28:47,093 --> 00:28:50,997 I thought the Muppets with a provocative title like that 581 00:28:51,097 --> 00:28:53,432 would appeal to an adult audience. 582 00:28:53,532 --> 00:28:57,303 Oh, well, uh, I might be able to get you a job on an educational show for kids. 583 00:28:57,403 --> 00:28:58,570 (CLEARS THROAT) 584 00:28:58,670 --> 00:29:02,274 That was a much more abstract and a little more unhinged 585 00:29:02,374 --> 00:29:04,476 kind of environment and character group. 586 00:29:04,576 --> 00:29:05,677 (GRUNTING) 587 00:29:05,778 --> 00:29:07,446 MAN: Oh, no, he bit his own arm! 588 00:29:07,546 --> 00:29:08,981 (GROANING) 589 00:29:09,081 --> 00:29:10,549 BRIAN: He called it Sex and Violence 590 00:29:10,649 --> 00:29:13,152 to try and tell the audience this is not Sesame Street. 591 00:29:13,252 --> 00:29:15,621 "Look it's called Sex and Violence" 592 00:29:15,721 --> 00:29:17,824 and still all the networks passed. 593 00:29:17,924 --> 00:29:20,927 I was with Jimmy Dean but nobody remembers me anymore. 594 00:29:21,027 --> 00:29:23,963 He really wanted to be mainstream television. 595 00:29:24,063 --> 00:29:28,067 That was his great dream, his great goal all of his life. 596 00:29:28,167 --> 00:29:31,337 And, um, it eluded him, uh, again and again and again. 597 00:29:31,437 --> 00:29:33,772 He had a heck of a time convincing the world 598 00:29:33,873 --> 00:29:35,307 to let him do The Muppet Show. 599 00:29:35,407 --> 00:29:38,577 He felt like Sesame Street had pigeonholed him. 600 00:29:38,677 --> 00:29:41,647 And it was frustrating to him. Very. 601 00:29:41,747 --> 00:29:43,149 NARRATOR: Ever eager to free himself 602 00:29:43,249 --> 00:29:45,952 from the stifling confines of children's TV, 603 00:29:46,052 --> 00:29:48,354 Jim signs on in 1975 604 00:29:48,454 --> 00:29:52,324 for the launch of a daring new late-night show on NBC. 605 00:29:52,424 --> 00:29:54,894 What developed was this "Land of Gorch," 606 00:29:54,994 --> 00:29:57,997 um, with the king and his wife and his girlfriend 607 00:29:58,097 --> 00:30:01,868 and, uh, his henchmen and the mighty Favog. 608 00:30:01,968 --> 00:30:05,104 Nobody had ever seen anything like those characters. 609 00:30:05,204 --> 00:30:07,706 JONES: I remember seeing the first, you know, two or three shows 610 00:30:07,806 --> 00:30:09,842 and going, "What in the heck is this?" 611 00:30:09,942 --> 00:30:11,710 'Cause I was looking for Kermit and here's something 612 00:30:11,810 --> 00:30:13,179 I'd never seen before. 613 00:30:13,279 --> 00:30:15,481 I remember Jim sort of being there 614 00:30:15,581 --> 00:30:18,184 and just sort of this 615 00:30:18,284 --> 00:30:22,989 island of calm in the sea of chaos of the early days of the show. 616 00:30:23,089 --> 00:30:25,291 NARRATOR: Adding to the chaos, some cast members 617 00:30:25,391 --> 00:30:27,793 have problems with Jim's puppets. 618 00:30:27,894 --> 00:30:29,761 John Belushi called them the Mucking Fuppets. 619 00:30:29,862 --> 00:30:31,230 And they were never really a good fit. 620 00:30:31,330 --> 00:30:34,033 Fortunately, what happened was Jim got The Muppet Show 621 00:30:34,133 --> 00:30:36,302 right at the end of the first season of Saturday Night Live, 622 00:30:36,402 --> 00:30:39,238 so he could leave after that first season, no harm, no foul. 623 00:30:39,338 --> 00:30:41,173 NARRATOR: Jim says goodbye to SNL 624 00:30:41,273 --> 00:30:44,310 and hello to legendary British entertainment mogul, 625 00:30:44,410 --> 00:30:46,178 Sir Lew Grade. 626 00:30:46,278 --> 00:30:51,117 Lew Grade called from London and said to him I've seen your Sex and Violence pilot 627 00:30:51,217 --> 00:30:52,684 for The Muppet Show, I think it's fantastic. 628 00:30:52,784 --> 00:30:56,155 Bring your people here to London and we'll make it. 629 00:30:56,255 --> 00:30:58,690 Coming to England gave him the creative freedom 630 00:30:58,790 --> 00:31:02,528 the resources, the financial wherewithal to make the show he wanted to make. 631 00:31:03,495 --> 00:31:06,165 It's The Muppet Show! 632 00:31:06,265 --> 00:31:08,834 NARRATOR: The show that all the US networks passed on 633 00:31:08,935 --> 00:31:12,304 begins taping in London in January of '76. 634 00:31:12,404 --> 00:31:16,575 Jim's dream of a Muppet series for all ages is about to be realized. 635 00:31:17,476 --> 00:31:18,710 Say, what's happening? 636 00:31:18,810 --> 00:31:20,112 Hi. 637 00:31:20,212 --> 00:31:21,680 NARRATOR: Jim crafts a weekly variety show 638 00:31:21,780 --> 00:31:24,550 featuring the Muppets and their human guest stars, 639 00:31:24,650 --> 00:31:28,087 presided over by the show's amphibian host and director. 640 00:31:28,187 --> 00:31:30,156 Scooter, get those dancers off-stage! 641 00:31:30,256 --> 00:31:32,324 Beauregard, get that scenery offstage! Come on now, move it! 642 00:31:32,424 --> 00:31:34,360 BAKER: Kermit the Frog was the leader, 643 00:31:34,460 --> 00:31:36,195 Kermit the Frog was the guy that the whole show was built around. 644 00:31:36,295 --> 00:31:38,430 Let's hear it for me! Yay! 645 00:31:38,530 --> 00:31:42,301 But you take Kermit away and you've got very humble Jim underneath it. 646 00:31:42,401 --> 00:31:45,071 Kermit's function on the show is very much like my own. 647 00:31:45,171 --> 00:31:48,240 He's trying to hold together this group of crazies. 648 00:31:48,340 --> 00:31:50,476 (ALL SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY) 649 00:31:51,777 --> 00:31:54,180 -(SCREAMING) Watch out! -(GRUNTS) 650 00:31:54,280 --> 00:31:59,385 He was able to be controlling and in charge through Kermit 651 00:31:59,485 --> 00:32:03,555 in a way that he couldn't ever when he was just being Jim. 652 00:32:03,655 --> 00:32:05,724 It was just a lot of fun. 653 00:32:05,824 --> 00:32:08,127 A lot of hard work, a lot of fun. 654 00:32:08,227 --> 00:32:10,129 AS MISS PIGGY: Oh, Roger! 655 00:32:10,229 --> 00:32:12,999 Because, with Jim, hard work and fun are synonymous. 656 00:32:13,099 --> 00:32:14,866 In order make it look good up there 657 00:32:14,967 --> 00:32:16,735 it has to be uncomfortable down here. 658 00:32:16,835 --> 00:32:20,006 There was a scene where Piggy was supposed to slap Kermit 659 00:32:20,106 --> 00:32:22,541 and in rehearsals, I don't know quite why I did it, 660 00:32:22,641 --> 00:32:24,743 but instead of slapping him I karate chopped him. 661 00:32:24,843 --> 00:32:28,247 -Hi-yah! -(SCREAMING) 662 00:32:28,347 --> 00:32:31,717 He really chopped and everybody was on the floor laughing 663 00:32:31,817 --> 00:32:35,487 and we all knew that this was probably gonna be the life of the pig. 664 00:32:35,587 --> 00:32:36,822 Hi-yah! 665 00:32:36,922 --> 00:32:39,391 -Hi-yah! -Ah! 666 00:32:39,491 --> 00:32:42,094 Jim encouraged collaboration something fierce. 667 00:32:42,194 --> 00:32:43,662 Like the janitor could come up and say, 668 00:32:43,762 --> 00:32:45,497 "Hey, wouldn't it be great if Piggy did such and such?" 669 00:32:45,597 --> 00:32:47,233 And if he liked the idea, he would use it. 670 00:32:47,333 --> 00:32:49,301 OZ: He was not about ownership, he was about quality. 671 00:32:49,401 --> 00:32:50,436 Yes! 672 00:32:50,536 --> 00:32:52,938 He was about doing the best job possible. 673 00:32:53,039 --> 00:32:55,407 And he valued everybody who worked with him 674 00:32:55,507 --> 00:32:58,144 as contributors and not just employees. 675 00:32:58,244 --> 00:33:00,146 I would like to now see, 676 00:33:00,246 --> 00:33:02,481 you all starting to march back towards the boat. 677 00:33:02,581 --> 00:33:03,849 Yes. Fine. 678 00:33:03,949 --> 00:33:07,653 You worked with Jim. You didn't necessarily work for him. 679 00:33:07,753 --> 00:33:09,855 He got the best out of people 680 00:33:09,955 --> 00:33:11,590 not from screaming and shouting. 681 00:33:11,690 --> 00:33:13,159 -I think it should definitely be night. -...with fireflies. 682 00:33:13,259 --> 00:33:14,893 Yeah, it's moonlight and fireflies. 683 00:33:14,993 --> 00:33:16,528 He did it in his own gentle way, 684 00:33:16,628 --> 00:33:18,830 and because of the way he treated people, 685 00:33:18,930 --> 00:33:20,366 he got it back in bucket loads. 686 00:33:20,466 --> 00:33:23,469 Yes, he plundered his plundering and he... 687 00:33:23,569 --> 00:33:26,305 (ALL LAUGHING) 688 00:33:26,405 --> 00:33:28,507 NARRATOR: The Muppet Show premieres on US television 689 00:33:28,607 --> 00:33:30,509 in September of '76. 690 00:33:30,609 --> 00:33:32,911 Ladies and gentlemen, The Great Gonzo! 691 00:33:33,011 --> 00:33:34,380 -(ENGINE RUMBLING) -Whoa! 692 00:33:38,284 --> 00:33:42,888 Not only did The Muppet Show go on to be the number one show in the world, 693 00:33:42,988 --> 00:33:45,557 it was also a huge hit in America. 694 00:33:45,657 --> 00:33:48,127 The Muppet Show was massive. When I was growing up, 695 00:33:48,227 --> 00:33:49,661 there were fewer channels. 696 00:33:49,761 --> 00:33:52,264 And so when The Muppets would be on it was a big giant deal. 697 00:33:52,364 --> 00:33:53,532 -Where? Oh, this lever! -This lever over here... 698 00:33:53,632 --> 00:33:54,600 No, this lever! 699 00:33:54,700 --> 00:33:56,535 (BOTH SCREAMING) 700 00:33:57,769 --> 00:33:59,238 They were gigantic in the UK, 701 00:33:59,338 --> 00:34:01,907 the US and Canada and Japan, 702 00:34:02,007 --> 00:34:03,209 all over the world. 703 00:34:03,309 --> 00:34:04,743 The Muppet Show backstage. 704 00:34:06,878 --> 00:34:10,116 It was pretty exciting when my father got the chance to make 705 00:34:10,216 --> 00:34:12,318 The Muppet Show in London 706 00:34:12,418 --> 00:34:14,486 The only sad thing, in a sense, was that 707 00:34:14,586 --> 00:34:17,223 he had to go and spend so much time away from the family. 708 00:34:17,323 --> 00:34:19,525 We were all going back and forth and visiting him there. 709 00:34:21,527 --> 00:34:23,429 NARRATOR: The time spent apart 710 00:34:23,529 --> 00:34:26,232 is a strain on Jim's relationship with his wife, Jane. 711 00:34:26,332 --> 00:34:27,999 She had five kids and it's, uh... 712 00:34:28,100 --> 00:34:29,668 That's a full time job. 713 00:34:29,768 --> 00:34:33,839 She took care of a pretty large and chaotic family. 714 00:34:33,939 --> 00:34:36,308 My mom's world was the family life. 715 00:34:36,408 --> 00:34:40,479 My dad would be there sometimes, but it was more like 716 00:34:40,579 --> 00:34:42,748 he had his world of the making of the shows. 717 00:34:42,848 --> 00:34:44,750 (YELPING) 718 00:34:44,850 --> 00:34:47,419 NARRATOR: Henson and his Muppets are on top of the world. 719 00:34:47,519 --> 00:34:51,290 But for Jim, there are always new creative worlds to conquer. 720 00:34:51,390 --> 00:34:54,593 The Muppet Show was the most watched show in the world, 721 00:34:54,693 --> 00:34:56,462 and now, next. 722 00:34:56,562 --> 00:35:00,299 Jim's focus became more and more on the movies, 723 00:35:00,399 --> 00:35:01,833 first the Muppet movies. 724 00:35:04,536 --> 00:35:07,373 You hadn't really had an entire all-puppet cast 725 00:35:07,473 --> 00:35:11,277 carrying a movie out in the real world. 726 00:35:11,377 --> 00:35:14,946 HENSON: Jim Frawley, who was the director, wanted to shoot in studio. 727 00:35:15,046 --> 00:35:17,649 I was really trying to talk him into shooting outdoors and I said, 728 00:35:17,749 --> 00:35:20,952 "Come on over" and he brought a Super-8 camera and we shot 729 00:35:21,052 --> 00:35:22,954 footage of the characters outdoors. 730 00:35:23,054 --> 00:35:26,858 Frank and Jim went out in the countryside in England, 731 00:35:26,958 --> 00:35:28,927 in front of a bunch of cows. 732 00:35:29,027 --> 00:35:30,496 Have you ever been to Los... 733 00:35:30,596 --> 00:35:32,231 Have you ever been to Los... Excuse me. 734 00:35:32,331 --> 00:35:34,700 Have you ever been to Los Angeles. (CHUCKLING) 735 00:35:34,800 --> 00:35:38,704 (CHUCKLING) Okay, I think I've milked this far enough, right, guys? 736 00:35:38,804 --> 00:35:41,240 NARRATOR: Jim and Frank's experiment is a success 737 00:35:41,340 --> 00:35:44,109 and The Muppet Movie opens in 1979. 738 00:35:44,210 --> 00:35:45,977 Yeah, well I've got a dream too. 739 00:35:46,077 --> 00:35:49,181 But it's about singing and dancing and making people happy. 740 00:35:49,281 --> 00:35:52,418 Jim was always looking for something that could be done simple 741 00:35:52,518 --> 00:35:54,253 but leave people saying, "How did they do that?" 742 00:35:54,353 --> 00:35:56,588 Gonzo, what are you doing? 743 00:35:56,688 --> 00:35:58,324 About seven knots! 744 00:35:58,424 --> 00:36:02,127 I remember watching and seeing Kermit riding on a bike 745 00:36:02,228 --> 00:36:04,530 and having just no idea how that could be done. 746 00:36:04,630 --> 00:36:07,566 He had an idea and then nothing would stop him from doing it. 747 00:36:07,666 --> 00:36:10,269 If it was impossible, he would make it possible. 748 00:36:10,369 --> 00:36:13,505 The first day I came to visit him on the set of The Muppet Movie, "Where's Jim?" 749 00:36:13,605 --> 00:36:15,541 "Oh, he's underwater." Like, what? 750 00:36:15,641 --> 00:36:17,676 Kermit was on a log in the swamp, 751 00:36:17,776 --> 00:36:21,079 and Jim's like underwater in a tank. 752 00:36:21,179 --> 00:36:23,048 NARRATOR: The Muppet Movie is a smash hit, 753 00:36:23,148 --> 00:36:24,583 as is The Great Muppet Caper, 754 00:36:24,683 --> 00:36:27,453 which opens in the summer of 1981. 755 00:36:27,553 --> 00:36:30,121 That same year, Jim does the unthinkable. 756 00:36:30,222 --> 00:36:32,624 Despite its soaring popularity, 757 00:36:32,724 --> 00:36:36,328 he ends The Muppet Show's five year TV run. 758 00:36:36,428 --> 00:36:38,163 We had a wonderful time doing it. 759 00:36:38,264 --> 00:36:40,399 You know, and I think it was, uh, really, 760 00:36:40,499 --> 00:36:43,269 five delicious years in my life. 761 00:36:43,369 --> 00:36:46,672 Jim wanted to stop when we were at our best. 762 00:36:46,772 --> 00:36:49,541 I realize now, that was a golden time. 763 00:36:49,641 --> 00:36:52,010 It was magical and it was a grind. 764 00:36:52,110 --> 00:36:54,380 Anybody who does a series on TV 765 00:36:54,480 --> 00:36:57,316 knows it is a relentless thing, every single week 766 00:36:57,416 --> 00:36:58,850 and you're working like hell 767 00:36:58,950 --> 00:37:02,421 and there's nobody, nobody who worked harder than Jim. 768 00:37:02,521 --> 00:37:03,722 CHERYL: The Muppet Show was fantastic, 769 00:37:03,822 --> 00:37:05,724 but he wanted to keep experimenting. 770 00:37:05,824 --> 00:37:07,559 He wanted to keep trying new things. 771 00:37:07,659 --> 00:37:09,561 He said, "You know, we do cute really well." 772 00:37:09,661 --> 00:37:12,230 But then, you know, this whole fantasy world 773 00:37:12,331 --> 00:37:13,899 was something that he really loved. 774 00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:19,170 Jim had this dream of 775 00:37:19,271 --> 00:37:23,609 being recognized as an artist, uh, and not simply an entertainer. 776 00:37:23,709 --> 00:37:28,414 And this led him into the fantasy world of The Dark Crystal. 777 00:37:29,014 --> 00:37:31,350 Trial by stone. 778 00:37:31,450 --> 00:37:33,719 Trial by stone! 779 00:37:35,854 --> 00:37:37,956 Part of the desire was to create a whole new world. 780 00:37:38,056 --> 00:37:41,393 You know, to start all over and design everything. 781 00:37:41,493 --> 00:37:44,062 There is much to be learned. 782 00:37:44,162 --> 00:37:47,198 And you have no time! 783 00:37:47,299 --> 00:37:49,801 NARRATOR: Jim enlists artist and designer, Brian Froud, 784 00:37:49,901 --> 00:37:52,170 to collaborate on the characters and environment 785 00:37:52,270 --> 00:37:54,306 for his 1982 feature film, 786 00:37:54,406 --> 00:37:55,841 The Dark Crystal. 787 00:37:55,941 --> 00:37:57,876 We just were exploring the possibilities of characters. 788 00:37:57,976 --> 00:38:00,245 I was sketching first, 789 00:38:00,346 --> 00:38:04,616 and then I made little models of the Skeksis and the Mystics. 790 00:38:04,716 --> 00:38:06,652 The story wasn't really defined until 791 00:38:06,752 --> 00:38:09,287 Jim and Cheryl got stuck in a blizzard at JFK. 792 00:38:09,388 --> 00:38:11,222 We were stuck there for a couple of days 793 00:38:11,323 --> 00:38:17,095 and it allowed my dad the time to actually think through a lot of the ideas 794 00:38:17,195 --> 00:38:19,064 that he had brewing in his head. 795 00:38:19,164 --> 00:38:21,667 The thing that is incredible about The Dark Crystal, 796 00:38:21,767 --> 00:38:26,104 is that everything you see up there on screen is made by hand. 797 00:38:26,204 --> 00:38:27,873 We were, in those days, pioneering. 798 00:38:27,973 --> 00:38:31,710 We didn't know quite how to do this and how to manipulate them, 799 00:38:31,810 --> 00:38:33,779 and what scale they were going to be. 800 00:38:33,879 --> 00:38:35,847 NARRATOR: Dark Crystal's complex combination 801 00:38:35,947 --> 00:38:39,385 of manual and remote-control puppetry is daunting. 802 00:38:39,485 --> 00:38:44,289 I said, "This is it!" Jim's optimism has really gotten beyond him this time. 803 00:38:44,390 --> 00:38:46,858 CHERYL: The whole thing was very complex 804 00:38:46,958 --> 00:38:49,294 and my father really poured his heart and soul 805 00:38:49,395 --> 00:38:51,162 and his own personal money 806 00:38:51,262 --> 00:38:53,865 into getting this film finished. 807 00:38:53,965 --> 00:38:58,770 We had such high expectations for what it was going to be, 808 00:38:58,870 --> 00:39:01,507 and it's almost as though nothing could live up 809 00:39:01,607 --> 00:39:03,709 to those expectations. 810 00:39:03,809 --> 00:39:06,044 NARRATOR: The Dark Crystal opens to mixed reviews 811 00:39:06,144 --> 00:39:10,416 and fewer ticket sales than Henson's blockbuster Muppet movies. 812 00:39:10,516 --> 00:39:13,485 BRIAN: People thought it was a little too out there, a little bit too weird, 813 00:39:13,585 --> 00:39:15,887 a little too serious, a little too heavy. 814 00:39:15,987 --> 00:39:17,523 They're like, "Where's the Muppets? 815 00:39:17,623 --> 00:39:19,725 "We want the Muppets. What is this thing?" 816 00:39:19,825 --> 00:39:22,293 OZ: Dark Crystal was not a huge success. 817 00:39:22,394 --> 00:39:24,730 It hurt him that, uh... 818 00:39:24,830 --> 00:39:28,333 Dark Crystal wasn't received as he thought it would've been. 819 00:39:28,434 --> 00:39:32,438 The Dark Crystal was considered to be a bit of an aberration, 820 00:39:32,538 --> 00:39:34,873 sort of a a slightly weird cul-de-sac. 821 00:39:34,973 --> 00:39:39,545 But, I could see it was expressing the very heart of who he was. 822 00:39:44,315 --> 00:39:47,285 NARRATOR: After work on The Dark Crystal is over in London, 823 00:39:47,385 --> 00:39:49,054 Jim returns to New York, 824 00:39:49,154 --> 00:39:51,022 but it's no happy homecoming. 825 00:39:51,122 --> 00:39:54,626 After nearly a quarter century of marriage and five children, 826 00:39:54,726 --> 00:39:56,528 he and Jane have grown apart. 827 00:39:56,628 --> 00:39:59,197 And Jim has been seeing other women. 828 00:39:59,297 --> 00:40:01,633 They agree to a formal separation. 829 00:40:01,733 --> 00:40:03,835 Even when at times they didn't get along, 830 00:40:03,935 --> 00:40:06,004 very well personally later on, 831 00:40:06,104 --> 00:40:08,607 he totally trusted her creative opinion 832 00:40:08,707 --> 00:40:12,377 and she had an impeccable taste level, 833 00:40:12,478 --> 00:40:14,980 so they continued to have that dialogue always. 834 00:40:25,757 --> 00:40:28,026 -This is the touch wall, right. -Yeah. 835 00:40:28,126 --> 00:40:30,261 NARRATOR: With the prime time success of The Muppet Show, 836 00:40:30,361 --> 00:40:33,899 Jim no longer fears being labeled a kid's entertainer, 837 00:40:33,999 --> 00:40:37,469 so he launches a new children's show in 1983. 838 00:40:38,203 --> 00:40:40,205 * Dance your cares away 839 00:40:40,305 --> 00:40:42,273 * Worries for another day 840 00:40:42,373 --> 00:40:44,375 * And let the music play 841 00:40:44,476 --> 00:40:46,177 * Down at Fraggle Rock 842 00:40:46,277 --> 00:40:48,914 Fraggle Rock was his global show. 843 00:40:49,014 --> 00:40:50,916 That was his show for the whole world. 844 00:40:51,016 --> 00:40:52,718 MAN: Fraggles are a noble race. 845 00:40:52,818 --> 00:40:56,021 -(WHOOPING) -Fearless, dignified, intellectual. 846 00:40:56,121 --> 00:41:00,225 He said to us all, let's make a series that's going to stop war. 847 00:41:02,193 --> 00:41:04,496 If we're going to make a series that's gonna stop war in the world, 848 00:41:04,596 --> 00:41:07,633 well, you have to start with kids because adults, it's too late. 849 00:41:07,733 --> 00:41:11,202 Well, I know what I'd do, if I was faced with such a tragedy. 850 00:41:11,302 --> 00:41:12,437 So do I. 851 00:41:12,538 --> 00:41:13,872 So do I. 852 00:41:13,972 --> 00:41:16,708 In fact, I've been preparing for it all my life. 853 00:41:16,808 --> 00:41:19,144 NARRATOR: Premiering in January of 1983, 854 00:41:19,244 --> 00:41:21,547 Fraggle Rock is the first original series 855 00:41:21,647 --> 00:41:24,082 on the new cable channel, HBO. 856 00:41:24,182 --> 00:41:25,684 The Trash Heap knows all. 857 00:41:25,784 --> 00:41:27,953 The Trash Heap tells all. 858 00:41:28,053 --> 00:41:31,823 Let's face it, boys, the Trash Heap is all. 859 00:41:31,923 --> 00:41:33,992 NARRATOR: Fraggle Rock's success reintroduces 860 00:41:34,092 --> 00:41:37,228 the Muppets to a new generation of TV viewers. 861 00:41:37,328 --> 00:41:41,232 But Jim hasn't given up on his fantasy film vision. 862 00:41:41,332 --> 00:41:46,638 We were exhausted by the end of The Dark Crystal and we sort of said, "Never again." 863 00:41:46,738 --> 00:41:50,341 But we were at a showing of Dark Crystal in San Francisco. 864 00:41:50,441 --> 00:41:52,010 Jim just looked at me and said, 865 00:41:52,110 --> 00:41:53,378 "Should we do another?" 866 00:41:53,478 --> 00:41:55,914 And I said, "Well, why not?" (CHUCKLING) 867 00:41:56,014 --> 00:41:58,183 NARRATOR: Responding to criticism of Dark Crystal 868 00:41:58,283 --> 00:42:01,219 as being too dark and without human characters, 869 00:42:01,319 --> 00:42:05,390 Jim revises his approach on his 1986 film, Labyrinth. 870 00:42:05,490 --> 00:42:07,292 He brought on Terry Jones to write it 871 00:42:07,392 --> 00:42:10,495 and he had that lighter Monty Python-kind of feeling. 872 00:42:10,596 --> 00:42:12,363 -He always lies. -I do not. 873 00:42:12,463 --> 00:42:14,432 -I tell the truth. -Oh, what a lie! 874 00:42:14,532 --> 00:42:16,467 (LAUGHING HYSTERICALLY) 875 00:42:16,568 --> 00:42:17,903 There were some real actors 876 00:42:18,003 --> 00:42:19,805 with David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly. 877 00:42:19,905 --> 00:42:22,207 Look what I'm offering you. 878 00:42:22,307 --> 00:42:24,576 NARRATOR: While technologically groundbreaking, 879 00:42:24,676 --> 00:42:27,278 Labyrinth is not a commercial success. 880 00:42:29,948 --> 00:42:34,185 He did take that hard when Labyrinth came out and the reviews weren't great. 881 00:42:34,285 --> 00:42:36,021 It was kind of devastating. 882 00:42:36,121 --> 00:42:39,691 CHERYL: He felt like he had hit the notes he needed to hit 883 00:42:39,791 --> 00:42:42,093 to get people to like it 884 00:42:42,193 --> 00:42:43,929 and it still fell flat. 885 00:42:44,029 --> 00:42:46,297 He was uncertain. He was disappointed. 886 00:42:46,397 --> 00:42:49,668 His confidence was shaken. 887 00:42:49,768 --> 00:42:54,906 FROUD: Jim was disappointed but he was really proud of them as a piece of art, 888 00:42:55,006 --> 00:42:57,442 and indeed he was right to be proud 889 00:42:57,542 --> 00:43:02,580 that over the years it's not just become a classic, but it became 890 00:43:02,681 --> 00:43:04,149 really influential. 891 00:43:11,957 --> 00:43:14,960 I could see over the years how fatigued he looked 892 00:43:15,060 --> 00:43:17,128 'cause he was handling so many projects 893 00:43:17,228 --> 00:43:19,464 and trying to keep this going and that going 894 00:43:19,564 --> 00:43:23,769 and I began to see it in his face how exhausted he was. 895 00:43:23,869 --> 00:43:27,138 NARRATOR: Between running the company in New York and the company in London, 896 00:43:27,238 --> 00:43:31,276 Jim is looking for much-needed relief by 1989. 897 00:43:31,376 --> 00:43:32,577 OZ: He was just exhausted. 898 00:43:32,678 --> 00:43:34,813 And he had a company of 300 people. 899 00:43:34,913 --> 00:43:36,882 So he would be flying everywhere 900 00:43:36,982 --> 00:43:39,350 because he had to have his hand in everything 'cause he was 901 00:43:39,450 --> 00:43:40,485 the boss and he had the vision. 902 00:43:40,585 --> 00:43:41,987 It's...it's tough. 903 00:43:42,087 --> 00:43:44,322 And so, he told me, you know, he just didn't wanna 904 00:43:44,422 --> 00:43:45,857 do that anymore. He wanted a... 905 00:43:45,957 --> 00:43:47,392 He wanted to just create. 906 00:43:47,492 --> 00:43:49,260 FRITH: There were all those layers of bureaucracy 907 00:43:49,360 --> 00:43:51,897 that begin to build up even in a little 908 00:43:51,997 --> 00:43:55,300 funny organization or disorganization like ours. 909 00:43:55,400 --> 00:43:57,135 There was just a lot of stuff. 910 00:43:57,235 --> 00:44:01,339 As he saw it, Disney was gonna take over all that stuff. 911 00:44:01,439 --> 00:44:03,842 My dad had a great relationship with Michael Eisner. 912 00:44:03,942 --> 00:44:05,510 They had known each other for many years. 913 00:44:05,610 --> 00:44:08,847 NARRATOR: Jim, who likes to do business on a handshake, 914 00:44:08,947 --> 00:44:12,450 begins merger negotiations with Disney Company CEO, 915 00:44:12,550 --> 00:44:13,852 Michael Eisner. 916 00:44:13,952 --> 00:44:16,722 He looked forward to a company that would be financing 917 00:44:16,822 --> 00:44:18,656 all new products and new movies. 918 00:44:18,757 --> 00:44:20,959 And he loved the parks. 919 00:44:21,059 --> 00:44:24,963 Jim was a tremendous admirer of Walt Disney and what he accomplished. 920 00:44:25,063 --> 00:44:28,099 My father kind of thought it was pointless to be in any theme park 921 00:44:28,199 --> 00:44:31,069 other than the Disney parks because they were the best. 922 00:44:31,169 --> 00:44:35,040 He needed to find a way that the Muppets could thrive 923 00:44:35,140 --> 00:44:38,143 without it taking so much of his time and effort 924 00:44:38,243 --> 00:44:40,678 'cause he wanted to experiment with other stuff. 925 00:44:40,779 --> 00:44:42,647 He was looking for protection for his characters, 926 00:44:42,748 --> 00:44:46,885 knew that I cared desperately about the quality of his work, 927 00:44:46,985 --> 00:44:49,354 knew that I understood his work, 928 00:44:49,454 --> 00:44:52,223 and that Disney would protect his work forever. 929 00:44:52,323 --> 00:44:56,527 We were starting to work on projects as though the deal had been done. 930 00:44:56,627 --> 00:45:00,832 NARRATOR: Jim begins work on the Muppet Vision 3-D attraction at Disney World. 931 00:45:00,932 --> 00:45:03,001 He was getting to play in the third dimension. 932 00:45:03,101 --> 00:45:05,336 We were gonna make more movies and television shows. 933 00:45:05,436 --> 00:45:09,707 He was gonna be treated well financially. 934 00:45:09,808 --> 00:45:12,844 Then came a terrible negotiation period, 935 00:45:12,944 --> 00:45:15,313 then came the lawyers 936 00:45:15,413 --> 00:45:19,350 and that was very draining on my dad. 937 00:45:19,450 --> 00:45:20,952 OZ: It did wear him down a great deal. 938 00:45:21,052 --> 00:45:22,687 He was trying to make something work 939 00:45:22,788 --> 00:45:25,190 but he had to make it work for himself, 940 00:45:25,290 --> 00:45:26,524 for the characters, for the Muppets 941 00:45:26,624 --> 00:45:28,860 and for the people around him, and it wasn't working. 942 00:45:28,960 --> 00:45:32,230 He said something about "The goddamn deal," 943 00:45:32,330 --> 00:45:34,866 referring to the Disney negotiations. 944 00:45:34,966 --> 00:45:37,468 And I was rocked when he said that. 945 00:45:37,568 --> 00:45:40,571 Because for him to say "The goddamn deal" was like 946 00:45:40,671 --> 00:45:44,642 anybody else letting off with a 10 minute stream of expletives. 947 00:45:44,742 --> 00:45:46,778 He was worn down. 948 00:45:46,878 --> 00:45:50,148 His system, I think, was not as strong during this time period and he got sick. 949 00:45:50,248 --> 00:45:52,683 But I don't think he wouldn't have gotten as sick had he 950 00:45:52,784 --> 00:45:55,153 not been worn down by the deal that much. 951 00:45:55,253 --> 00:45:56,788 We were in Walt Disney World together. 952 00:45:56,888 --> 00:45:58,356 He and I and his daughter. 953 00:45:58,456 --> 00:46:00,992 And he got the flu. 954 00:46:01,559 --> 00:46:02,794 My dad 955 00:46:03,594 --> 00:46:05,230 very rarely got sick. 956 00:46:05,330 --> 00:46:08,466 Um, but he did seem to have a cold and he seemed exhausted. 957 00:46:08,566 --> 00:46:11,102 OZ: He didn't know how sick he was, I'm sure. 958 00:46:11,202 --> 00:46:14,005 Whatever illness he had, he thought he could take care of it, 959 00:46:14,105 --> 00:46:15,673 and he didn't think it was that serious. 960 00:46:15,773 --> 00:46:19,244 My dad didn't really like going to doctors much. 961 00:46:19,344 --> 00:46:22,881 And it has certainly something to do with his upbringing 962 00:46:22,981 --> 00:46:25,016 and his mother being a Christian Scientist. 963 00:46:25,116 --> 00:46:27,718 He would never go to a doctor and get antibiotics. 964 00:46:27,819 --> 00:46:29,554 Really, he'd just always weather through it. 965 00:46:29,654 --> 00:46:31,356 FRITH: He canceled his sessions 966 00:46:31,456 --> 00:46:34,759 on Sesame Street that day, which was unheard of. 967 00:46:34,860 --> 00:46:36,394 Everybody joked about Jim. 968 00:46:36,494 --> 00:46:39,164 Jim the Iron Man, you know. No matter how 969 00:46:39,264 --> 00:46:41,499 lousy he felt he would always turn up. 970 00:46:41,599 --> 00:46:45,636 GANZ COONEY: He came home and was sick, but he didn't want a doctor. 971 00:46:45,736 --> 00:46:48,974 Then he called Jane to come in and stay with him. 972 00:46:49,074 --> 00:46:51,376 They were about to get a divorce, 973 00:46:51,476 --> 00:46:55,313 which showed you that he was scared in some way at bottom. 974 00:46:56,281 --> 00:46:57,582 I got called 975 00:46:58,850 --> 00:47:00,919 as he was going to the hospital, like, 976 00:47:01,019 --> 00:47:02,854 "What do you mean, he's going to the hospital?" 977 00:47:02,954 --> 00:47:05,256 Jim and I shared an assistant. 978 00:47:05,356 --> 00:47:06,892 And, um... 979 00:47:06,992 --> 00:47:09,527 I came in and I said, "Where's Jim?" 980 00:47:09,627 --> 00:47:12,864 And she said he's in the hospital, he's got a bad flu. 981 00:47:13,798 --> 00:47:15,333 And I said, "Okay." 982 00:47:15,433 --> 00:47:17,235 But then she said he's in intensive care and I said, 983 00:47:17,335 --> 00:47:20,305 "Wait a second" and I was thinking to myself something... 984 00:47:20,405 --> 00:47:22,007 Something is wrong. 985 00:47:22,107 --> 00:47:24,509 JONES: They put him in the ICU almost immediately 986 00:47:24,609 --> 00:47:27,112 and he was unconscious in less than two hours 987 00:47:27,212 --> 00:47:29,180 and never regained consciousness again. 988 00:47:33,451 --> 00:47:36,854 NARRATOR: In the early morning hours of May 16, 1990, 989 00:47:36,955 --> 00:47:39,324 Jim Henson dies of organ failure, 990 00:47:39,424 --> 00:47:43,194 resulting from streptococcal toxic shock syndrome. 991 00:47:43,294 --> 00:47:46,031 The phone rang, and it was Frank Oz 992 00:47:46,131 --> 00:47:50,035 and he said, "Joan, Jim is dead." 993 00:47:50,135 --> 00:47:53,671 And I, you... I had a hard time staying on my feet. 994 00:47:53,771 --> 00:47:59,010 I would vacillate between profound grief and then anger 995 00:47:59,110 --> 00:48:04,649 of why didn't you, why didn't you do the sensible thing? 996 00:48:04,749 --> 00:48:06,484 But it was all too late. 997 00:48:06,584 --> 00:48:09,554 I heard two doctors talking about the fact that he just... 998 00:48:09,654 --> 00:48:12,657 That he just came in too late. 999 00:48:12,757 --> 00:48:18,129 They said another hour or two would have helped, would have made the difference. 1000 00:48:18,229 --> 00:48:22,200 One shot of penicillin would have solved the whole problem. 1001 00:48:22,300 --> 00:48:25,436 It took your breath. You couldn't believe it. He was a young man. 1002 00:48:25,536 --> 00:48:29,440 He was the heart and soul of the family. 1003 00:48:29,540 --> 00:48:34,145 And the idea of him passing was so unacceptable. 1004 00:48:49,860 --> 00:48:51,296 NARRATOR: Five days after his death, 1005 00:48:51,396 --> 00:48:53,264 a memorial service is held at 1006 00:48:53,364 --> 00:48:57,102 the Cathedral of St. John, the Divine, in New York City. 1007 00:48:57,202 --> 00:49:00,871 Six thousand people showed up. We were all just shattered. 1008 00:49:00,972 --> 00:49:04,609 OZ: The loss was so great that I think we just didn't accept it at that time. 1009 00:49:04,709 --> 00:49:07,212 Our job was to honor him. 1010 00:49:07,312 --> 00:49:09,314 And I think that carried us through. 1011 00:49:09,414 --> 00:49:11,716 And I remember the bishop in New York saying, 1012 00:49:11,816 --> 00:49:15,720 "I've never felt closer to the Kingdom of Heaven, than I feel at this moment." 1013 00:49:15,820 --> 00:49:19,390 * It's not that easy 1014 00:49:19,490 --> 00:49:21,126 * Being green 1015 00:49:21,226 --> 00:49:24,729 Oh, my God, there was not a dry eye in the place. 1016 00:49:26,197 --> 00:49:28,033 Thank you, Kermit. 1017 00:49:34,939 --> 00:49:37,808 KENWORTHY: It was a company built entirely around Jim. 1018 00:49:37,908 --> 00:49:40,378 People said, what would ever happen if... 1019 00:49:40,478 --> 00:49:42,180 You know, if Jim wasn't here, well... 1020 00:49:42,280 --> 00:49:44,015 You knew the company would fold. 1021 00:49:44,115 --> 00:49:46,651 It couldn't... It couldn't go on. And then, 1022 00:49:46,751 --> 00:49:49,620 suddenly out of the blue here was that very situation. 1023 00:49:49,720 --> 00:49:51,456 There was kind of a threshold question of like, 1024 00:49:51,556 --> 00:49:54,225 "Oh, well, should it all just be shut down right now?" 1025 00:49:54,325 --> 00:49:57,695 All of us said we wanted to go on. 1026 00:49:57,795 --> 00:50:02,167 We just... We saw it as a life's work, and we would like to continue. 1027 00:50:02,267 --> 00:50:04,802 NARRATOR: When Jim's hero, Edgar Bergen, passed away, 1028 00:50:04,902 --> 00:50:08,039 his puppet sidekick Charlie McCarthy was retired. 1029 00:50:08,139 --> 00:50:09,807 Now, with Jim gone, 1030 00:50:09,907 --> 00:50:12,410 the fate of Kermit is uncertain. 1031 00:50:12,510 --> 00:50:15,846 When Kermit dies, what message do you want to send? 1032 00:50:15,946 --> 00:50:19,850 I think you're trying to send children a message that 1033 00:50:19,950 --> 00:50:21,752 in some way, life goes on. 1034 00:50:21,852 --> 00:50:24,155 Because it would have been unthinkable for kids. 1035 00:50:24,255 --> 00:50:27,092 It would have been a death in the family. 1036 00:50:27,192 --> 00:50:29,094 A decision was reached 1037 00:50:29,194 --> 00:50:31,196 that if Jim could have his say, 1038 00:50:31,296 --> 00:50:33,731 there'd not be a doubt in his mind 1039 00:50:33,831 --> 00:50:36,701 that Kermit should come back and Kermit should go on. 1040 00:50:36,801 --> 00:50:39,437 -Oh, a post card from my uncle, Kermit. -What's it say? 1041 00:50:39,537 --> 00:50:42,307 I forgot to tell you that the big production number 1042 00:50:42,407 --> 00:50:45,543 is meant to be a tribute to Jim Henson. 1043 00:50:45,643 --> 00:50:49,280 An emotional CBS special, The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson, 1044 00:50:49,380 --> 00:50:52,350 airs on November 21, 1990, 1045 00:50:52,450 --> 00:50:54,819 six months after Jim's death. 1046 00:50:54,919 --> 00:50:57,188 I remember this Jim Henson fella. 1047 00:50:57,288 --> 00:50:59,324 -Oh, yeah? -Yeah, he was always hanging around. 1048 00:50:59,424 --> 00:51:01,226 -Where, where? -Where? 1049 00:51:01,326 --> 00:51:02,293 Uh... Down there. 1050 00:51:02,393 --> 00:51:04,395 There were some heavy times, 1051 00:51:04,495 --> 00:51:07,732 but there were moments in which nobody could say anything. 1052 00:51:07,832 --> 00:51:11,636 "I feel very sorry that your best friend, Jim died." 1053 00:51:11,736 --> 00:51:13,338 What, died? 1054 00:51:13,438 --> 00:51:15,673 We were just starting to get to know him. 1055 00:51:15,773 --> 00:51:16,741 (SIGHS) 1056 00:51:16,841 --> 00:51:20,077 I... I always felt like his presence was around 1057 00:51:20,178 --> 00:51:22,380 in the characters. 1058 00:51:22,480 --> 00:51:25,416 And we'll be seeing you soon with more Muppet stuff because 1059 00:51:25,516 --> 00:51:27,418 that's the way the boss would want it. 1060 00:51:29,920 --> 00:51:32,557 NARRATOR: In September of 2003, Jim's old friend, 1061 00:51:32,657 --> 00:51:36,294 Willard Scott, speaks at the dedication of a statue in Jim's memory 1062 00:51:36,394 --> 00:51:38,329 at the University of Maryland, 1063 00:51:38,429 --> 00:51:40,265 where Jim met Jane Nebel, 1064 00:51:40,365 --> 00:51:42,099 and their Muppet journey began, 1065 00:51:42,200 --> 00:51:44,068 half a century before. 1066 00:51:44,169 --> 00:51:46,304 Little kids and big kids like me 1067 00:51:46,404 --> 00:51:48,773 can sit in Jim's arm 1068 00:51:48,873 --> 00:51:50,341 and have pictures taken. 1069 00:51:50,441 --> 00:51:53,744 Anybody that loved Jim Henson has got to see that. 1070 00:51:53,844 --> 00:51:57,582 NARRATOR: The next year, 15 years after negotiations began, 1071 00:51:57,682 --> 00:52:00,285 the Disney deal finally gets made, 1072 00:52:00,385 --> 00:52:02,853 insuring that Jim's Muppets will live on. 1073 00:52:02,953 --> 00:52:08,559 As a family we asked Disney to continue on the tradition of the Muppets. 1074 00:52:08,659 --> 00:52:12,663 As a family we put a lot of things into the hands of Sesame Street. 1075 00:52:12,763 --> 00:52:17,502 My dad's legacy is being put in a number of museums. 1076 00:52:17,602 --> 00:52:20,938 Jim has a legacy like Charles Schulz has a legacy, 1077 00:52:21,038 --> 00:52:24,008 like Walt Disney has a legacy. 1078 00:52:24,108 --> 00:52:25,810 It's the characters that he left behind. 1079 00:52:31,148 --> 00:52:33,017 He didn't just open doors, 1080 00:52:33,117 --> 00:52:36,354 there was in the universe a place where there might be a door 1081 00:52:36,454 --> 00:52:38,323 that nobody had seen before. 1082 00:52:38,423 --> 00:52:41,726 And he recognized that door. And he opened it. 1083 00:52:41,826 --> 00:52:47,365 He went in and he brought a whole lot of people with him 1084 00:52:47,465 --> 00:52:51,802 who shared a certain kind of vision. 1085 00:52:51,902 --> 00:52:55,740 * It's not easy being green 1086 00:52:55,840 --> 00:53:00,578 OZ: He was sweet and tough. He was free and had strong will. 1087 00:53:00,678 --> 00:53:04,148 He had a lot of fun but he was very serious. 1088 00:53:04,249 --> 00:53:07,252 He was professional but he was silly. 1089 00:53:07,352 --> 00:53:08,719 He was a very good decent person 1090 00:53:08,819 --> 00:53:11,021 who had flaws like anybody else. 1091 00:53:11,121 --> 00:53:13,724 But he always 1092 00:53:13,824 --> 00:53:16,661 had a higher calling in mind, which is 1093 00:53:16,761 --> 00:53:18,796 to do good. 1094 00:53:18,896 --> 00:53:23,834 Everything about him was to do good, be good, be kind, 1095 00:53:23,934 --> 00:53:26,371 be caring, help other people. 1096 00:53:26,471 --> 00:53:28,172 There's not a week that goes by 1097 00:53:28,273 --> 00:53:30,241 that there isn't some reason I don't think of 1098 00:53:30,341 --> 00:53:31,909 "How would Jim handle this?" 1099 00:53:32,009 --> 00:53:35,012 So, I carry him around. I think all of us do. 1100 00:53:35,112 --> 00:53:39,417 He's gone, but he's still around. 1101 00:53:39,517 --> 00:53:42,520 Jim was someone of terrific curiosity, 1102 00:53:42,620 --> 00:53:46,357 ambition and drive and talent, 1103 00:53:46,457 --> 00:53:48,893 and it's extraordinary when someone has a vision 1104 00:53:48,993 --> 00:53:50,895 and, and realizes it, 1105 00:53:50,995 --> 00:53:54,198 It's quite something when characters you've created 1106 00:53:54,299 --> 00:53:56,000 have a life of their own. 1107 00:53:56,100 --> 00:53:57,835 It really is remarkable. 1108 00:53:59,169 --> 00:54:01,105 * I'm green 1109 00:54:01,205 --> 00:54:02,573 * It'll do fine 1110 00:54:03,308 --> 00:54:05,410 * It's beautiful 1111 00:54:05,510 --> 00:54:09,947 * And I think it's What I wanna be * 92201

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