Known as the man behind the frog, Jim Henson's most famous creation Kermit the Frog was just one of a huge assortment of fabulous creatures.
The creative genius behind the award winning children's show, Sesame Street began his career in television in 1954 with a five-minute show called Sam and Friends that appeared on WRC-TV in Washington. One of the early puppets he created at the time was an abstract lizard-like character named Kermit. By 1963 Henson's TV appearances had made him well known across the country and the start of a successful career producing commercials had taken off.
A meeting in 1968 laid the foundation for Sesame Street and an exciting new era in Henson's life. The enormous popularity of the show, which first aired in the fall of 1969, showcased Henson's genius to the world.
Throughout his career Henson kept a record of significant dates and events. His family milestones appear alongside significant projects and everything is surrounded by illustrations, notes, and ideas. He kept separate books for individual projects as well and it is from these journals along with material saved by his family that Karen Falk has drawn from for this look inside this incredibly imaginative mind.
The Muppets in various projects became a life long commitment for Henson and his crew of collaborators but they were only a part of his ever-increasing ambitions. Feature length films like The Dark
Crystal and Labyrinth as well as numerous television specials and a new show called Fraggle Rock kept his team constantly pushing their creative boundaries.
Filled with behind the scenes photographs, posters, drawings, storyboards, notes and Falk's writing, this book is an outstanding tribute to a remarkably talented man who changed the face of children's entertainment.
