Jim Henson: The Biography (81 page)

Jim’s Muppets were pivotal to the success of
Sesame Street,
making the educational show an overnight sensation and an American institution. Jim was fiercely devoted to the show, and he and Frank Oz (shown here in 1969) would regularly perform Ernie and Bert together until Jim’s death
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A manic Muppet monster devours a machine in one of Jim’s short films for IBM from the late 1960s. The monster would be defanged and used again as
Sesame Street
’s ravenous Cookie Monster
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Jim with
Sesame Street
co-creator Joan Ganz Cooney in the 1980s
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The Henson family in the late 1970s. Left to right: Cheryl, Jane, Brian, Jim (with Heather on shoulders), John, and Lisa
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Jim at the editing table in 1972 as performer John Lovelady, designer Bonnie Erickson, builder Faz Fazakas, and designer Don Sahlin look on
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Attorney Al Gottesman deftly negotiated the profit-sharing deal that divvied up the millions from
Sesame Street
merchandising between Henson Associates and Children’s Television Workshop. Gottesman became one of Jim’s most valued legal advisors
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Jim’s hand-drawn cover to one of his earliest proposals for
The Muppet Show,
from the late 1960s
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Lord Lew Grade (second from right, with wife Kathie, David Lazer, and Jim) believed in Jim and the Muppets from the very beginning and ensured that Jim had the resources he needed to make
The Muppet Show
successful. With a budget of $125,000 per episode, it was one of the most expensive syndicated shows of its day
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Jim’s beloved Kermit-green Lotus, a gift from Lord Grade
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Writer Jerry Juhl was one of Jim’s most important and trusted creative collaborators. Starting in the 1960s, Juhl guided the Muppets from television to the movie screen and played a critical role in countless projects, including the development of
Fraggle Rock.

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Jim and Jane at a formal dinner honoring Lord Grade in London. While their relationship had always been a true creative partnership, differing priorities—and vastly different communication styles—would eventually fracture their marriage
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