Happy Birthday, Jim Henson

[filkertom]

He would've been 71 today.

(I wanted to post this this morning. Literally, I saw that it was his birthday, got the Wikipedia page, clicked to post to LJ... and the hotel tried to charge me another $9.95 for internet.)

So, what are your favorite Muppet moments? No chance I'm gonna limit you to one or two or even ten.

Comments

[lukeski.livejournal.com]

My favorite Muppet moment? All of them. But I'll mention one specifically...

One of the Halloween episodes of the Muppet Show... A lit candle is scooting it's way across Kermit's desk. Kermit leans over and blows the candle out. Kermit then looks into the camera and says "Think about that, folks".

[vixyish.livejournal.com]

Dude.

That's deep.

[wyattkelly.livejournal.com]

Favorite Muppet moments...wow, that's a hard question...
Favorite of all time? Kermit sitting on the log, singing, "Rainbow Connection" in the Muppet Movie. Still brings tears to my eyes.

Favorite Movie? The Dark Crystal. High Fantasy that took nearly twenty years to equal again, with the Lord of the Rings.

Favorite Guest? Garth Brooks, just for a few scenes in Muppets Tonight that made me nearly piss myself from laughing.

Favorite Muppet? I can't do that.

[arakasi1.livejournal.com]

I sing "Rainbow Connection" to my son when he is having trouble falling asleep. One day he will be old enough to ask me why there are always tears running down my face when I sing it.

[twfarlan.livejournal.com]

I cannot overestimate the effect he had on my life. From Sesame Street to re-runs of the Muppet Show, his work was literally a part of my life every day during my formative years. Aside from my parents, Jim, his vision, and his team had more of an effect on my childhood than anyone else. Favorite moment? Okay, try ages 2-10.

[sunfell.livejournal.com]

There's a Smithsonian exhibit called the "Jim Henson Experience" that is in Little Rock until late November. I went to see it last week, and it was a real treat. There at the entrance was Kermit- my favorite character. And there were drawings by Henson, and various muppets he'd built- including Bert and Ernie and the Mana Manas. And the real treat: some props and costumes from "The Dark Crystal", including the Skeksis' eating utensils, some Pod People artifacts, and Kira's dress. It was wonderful.

When this comes to your city, go see it. Ours was the first to get it, and it's worth a visit. That man had an incredible mind.

The radio ad for the exhibit has Kermit saying, "He has his hand in a lot of things, but I am not exactly sure what that means..."

[ladysmith.livejournal.com]

Running all over Maryland to find a copy of Rainbow Connection so that we could have it as the first dance at our wedding. ;-}

The DJ was absolutely baffled as to why we were insisting on the Jim Henson version, when he had two other versions of it already. Silly muggle...

Did you say "cheap 3-D tricks?"

[tony-goldmark.livejournal.com]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE "Jim Henson's Muppet*Vision 3-D" at Disney-MGM Studios and Disney's California Adventure. The last film he ever made, and one of the best.

Interesting trivia: Jim got a lot of grief from mid-level Disney management over Statler & Waldorf's final exchange, "We can't leave! We're bolted to the seats!" The Disney people shouted blasphemy to the effect of "YOU CAN'T HAVE THE ROBOTS ACKNOWLEDGE THEY'RE ROBOTS! IT RUINS IT FOR THE STUPID KIDS!" After much tooth and nail fighting, Jim finally took it all the way up to devoted Muppet fan Michael Eisner, who overrode all the other suits. Probably the best thing Eisner ever did for Disney.

I know more than a few Muppet fans who REFUSE to ever go to the Disney parks, and thus resign themselves to missing out on such a fantastic tribute to Henson's genius. Their loss.

[ladyoceanstar.livejournal.com]

Rainbow Connection. :-) Still brings a tear to my eyes.

[youngcurmudgeon.livejournal.com]

My favorite Muppet Show episode is the one with Paul Simon. "Oh yeah? Do they call YOU Paul Simon the great?" Other great moments: the Star Wars episode in its entirety; the Age of Aquarium number from Sesame Street; Kermit interviewing Oscar about public television; Put Down the Duckie; my tape of Big Bird's Birthday. (Why my tape? Because the beginning of the tape was the very end of Empire Strikes Back. That probably explains more than it should about my childhood, come to think of it.)

[blueeyedtigress.livejournal.com]

I <3 Kermit, ever and always.

There are too many magic moments to choose from -- but thank you so much for writing "A Boy and His Frog". We all needed that, then .....

[greenmansgrove.livejournal.com]

"Jack not name! Jack job!"

"Have another popover, froggie!"
(and if there's anyone out there who remembers that one, I'll be very surprised!)

Bake the hall in the candle of her brain!

[joshbrown.livejournal.com]

The Frog Prince was one of my favorite tapes (made off the record my parents still own) to listen to in the car whenever we went for a family trip.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[sarekofvulcan.livejournal.com]

One of my earliest edits. :-)

[thatcrazycajun.livejournal.com]

Trying so hard to remember my favorite Muppet moments; there were so many...As cited above, Kermit singing "Rainbow Connection," but also Gonzo singing "I'm Going to Go Back There Someday." The Mana Manas driving the poor singer crazy. Orson Welles intoning, "Miss Williams, please draw up the standard 'rich and famous' contract for Kermit the Frog and company." Oscar the Grouch singing "I Love Trash." Gonzo blowing the horn to open THE MUPPET SHOW and for once getting an actual horn sound, then saying, "Well, waddaya know? I finally got it right!" Miss Piggy karate-kicking someone into oblivion with a hearty "Haaaiiii-YAAAHH!" The whole "Oklahoma!"/"Yokohama!" number from TMS.

And you singing "A Boy and His Frog," Tom. Still makes me tear up every time, damn your eyes. :-)

[thatcrazycajun.livejournal.com]

Almost forgot one...Kermit duetting on "Being Green" with the late, great and dearly missed Ray Charles.

[tvskyle.livejournal.com]

Easily "Mah-na, Mah-na"!

[wynjara.livejournal.com]

The Muppet Movie. Muppet Family Christmas (Sesame Street, Muppets, *and* Fraggle Rock. Together. And Jim at the end.). Fraggle Rock, forever and always. Just...everything he ever did, I think.

Although the two moments that come to mind for me are the scene in the Muppet Show tribute where they're reading the letters from fans... and your Boy and His Frog.

[drzarron.livejournal.com]

Wow, not sure that's possible.

My favorite moments aren't huge and quotable. They are little things. Small bits of business that belong to just that character at that moment. They way Kermit would "gulp", sort of rocking his mouth back, or responding to some insane statement from Gonzo or Fozzy with "The heck you say.".

Moments from Fraggle Rock, the "Convincing John" song, always love that.

The very last scene in the original aired version of "A Muppet Christmas" when Jim leans out of the kitchen in an amazingly patterned black and white sweater with matching bow tie and talks with Sprocket commenting on how happy they all look, then going to wash the dishes while Sprocket dried. The perfect proud Papa happy to see his kids enjoying themselves together for the holidays.

And you don't have a soul if you can listen to "Rainbow Connection" or "Being Green" done by Jim as Kermit and not get emotional.

BUT..

My favorite Jim moment was at the '82 World Con in Chicago, going to the "Dark Crystal" panel to see Jim, with my trusty puppet Ordie on my lap... then having him come right over to me and talk to me, and talk to Ordie. To this day I don't remember a thing that was said other than the screaming voice in my head "HOLY S&^%, YOU PUPPETEERING FOR JIM F$*%ING HENSON, DON'T SCREW UP" and he shook Ordie's hand, signed my "Dark Crystal" press kit and was gone into the crowd. MAN.. to have a friend with a camera with me.. WHY didn't I?? Still have the Press Kit and will treasure it always.

Happy Birthday Jim, We Miss You.

[tandw.livejournal.com]

I believe a friend of mine dressed up as Beaker for that Worldcon...at least, she had a picture of herself as Beaker sitting next to Jim Henson at a piano.

[eleri.livejournal.com]

Fraggle Rock, on pirated HBO! The Dark Crystal in the theatre. Family night at home with the Muppet Show. Getting my hair brushed every morning to Sesame Street. I grew up on Jim Henson, and it is to my everlasting sorrow that my kids aren't exposed more to his wisdom. He was a true Storyteller.

[sarekofvulcan.livejournal.com]

Oh, there are so many to choose from, but two really stick in my mind: Kermit singing "Being Green" on a particularly stressful day at the theatre, as the bare stage is transformed around him, and Robin singing A.A. Milne on a stairway.

*runs off to gargle some Gershwin*

[kshandra]

I just recently saw Robin's performance of "Halfway Down The Stairs."

In the middle of Black Rock City. :D A camp at the end of my block ran Season 1, Disc 1 one night...I probably sat there for two hours watching. We all applauded at the end of "...Bein' Green." And for all that it amounts to sitting on my arse, watching TV, that is already one of my all-time favorite memories of Burning Man.

Other favorite moments: Paul Williams singing "Just An Old Fashioned Love Song" in three-part harmony with himself. Miss Piggy singing "I'd Like to Get You on a Slow Boat to China" to Roger Moore ("Not even the Concorde..."). Big Bird, at the beginning of The Muppet Movie, turning down an invitation to go to Hollywood with the gang because he was headed to New York to break into public television. ;-) Seeing "Couldn't We Ride" in The Great Muppet Caper for the first time, and wondering how the *&^%$#@! they made it work.

[mihai-lado.livejournal.com]

"Grandma's Feather Bed" with John Denver.
"Turn the World Around" with Harry Belafonte
Animal with James Coburn
Statler and Waldorf, always

[timemachineyeah.livejournal.com]

I just finished watching the third season of Fraggle Rock *huggles box set* and I have to say that every time Cantus makes an appearance my heart just swells. It makes me so happy.

I also love the moment in The Muppet Movie when Kermit has the conversation with himself. The whole moment is lovely. I really love when he says, "I guess I was wrong when I said I never promised anyone. I promised me."

And then I go "AWWW! KERMIT, I LOVE YOU!"

[timemachineyeah.livejournal.com]

In case you didn't catch the word the hundred times I used it...

LOVE!

[valarltd.livejournal.com]

The whole Muppet Movie, including "Good thing frogs can hop or I'd be gone with the Scwhinn."

The Alice Cooper episode.

Gene Kelley refusing to do "Singing in the Rain."

C-3PO ending his dance with the classic Tin Woodman pose, if not the tooted steam.

Roosevelt Franklin and his dog Night Train. Prarie Dawn. Oscar the Grouch singing "I love trash."

My husband and my best girl dueting on "If moon were cookie."

And I loved the Muppet News Breaks on Sesame Street. Because those just never went well.

[vixyish.livejournal.com]

Gene Kelley refusing to do "Singing in the Rain."

Oh heavens, one of my *utter* favorites. With Rowlf saying repatedly, "no no, I meant the one that starts like *this*..." *plays piano riff*

Gene *starts yet another song that fits the accompaniment*

S'wonnnderfullllll...

[fredhuggins.livejournal.com]

One of my favorite moments was in the Julie Andrews Muppet Show episode, where for various reasons Muppet characters keep flying from one end of the room to another, and Kermit's just kinda watching it like tennis. Julie: "What do you do for entertainment around here?" Kermit: "Oh, not much."

[vixyish.livejournal.com]

I loved the duet of "When you were a tadpole and I was a fish" in that one.

[ldwheeler.livejournal.com]

Oof, so many. Lately, though, I'm digging Animal, Beaker and the Swedish Chef doing their take on "Danny Boy." (I like to think it inspired the Tonto/Tarzan/Frankenstein Christmas-carol bit on SNL, though it probably didn't.)

I loved that a running gag in The Muppet Movie was "Have you considered Hare Krishna?" I wonder what the Self-Appointed Guardians of Thought made of that line in what was ostensibly a kids' movie ...

Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem! Best. Band Ever.

[msminlr.livejournal.com]

'Way back then, there was a group in the costume contest at an OKon as that band.

[starmalachite.livejournal.com]

Seeing Der Dunkel Kristal in a movie theater in Germany.

[joshbrown.livejournal.com]

My favorites have to be Kermit singing Bein' Green, Ernie and Bert singing Imagination, a million guest stars doing Put Down the Duckie and Harry Belafonte's Turn The World Around.
And "A Boy and His Frog" has to go on the list as well.

[starsongky.livejournal.com]

Big Bird looking for Mr. Hooper to give him the picture he'd drawn of him, Maria explaining he'd died, and Big Bird finally understanding his friend wasn't ever coming back. Rather than just get another actor to play Mr. Hooper after Will Lee died, or putting a different character in and pretending nothing was different, Henson faced it head-on in a way kids could understand.

[ladysoapmaker.livejournal.com]

I remember that episode. It was my first real experience with death. I remember my mom being supoortive of the whole concept and pleased that it was done. It helped several years later when my great-grandmother died.