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What Made Jim Henson, the Visionary Behind the Muppets, One of the Nation’s Most Beloved Cultural Figures. Museum collections and a new documentary on Jim Henson’s life and career reveal how his creativity cemented his legacy.

Museum collections and a new documentary on Jim Henson’s life and career reveal how his creativity cemented his legacy

Kermit the Frog, Bert and Ernie, Big Bird and many more of his characters, from “The Muppet Show” to “Sesame Street,” have become a part of American culture and own a significant place in entertainment history and viewers’ hearts. The museum also has a newer Kermit the Frog puppet which was first loaned in 1979 in celebration of the tenth anniversary of “Sesame Street” and then designated as a gift in 1994 by The Jim Henson Company. “We always talked about having a collection of Jim’s characters at the Smithsonian, and Jane felt very strongly that the original Muppets, the ones that premiered on WRC-TV, should ultimately be at the National Museum of American History.”

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