Jim Henson

When he was still a college freshman, a local television station asked Jim Henson to create a five minute puppet show called Sam and Friends and the program was a hit. This show included Henson’s Kermit the Frog puppet character and even in these short programs Jim Henson experimented with innovative puppetry by using new camera angles and lifelike puppet fabrics. His puppets were unique as they expressed emotion. For example, the puppets’ hands were expressive and flexible as they featured rods inside them and were not stiffly controlled by the usual marionette strings. His puppets became known as “Muppets” and were featured on television’s “Sesame Street”.