It’s never just “your birthday.” It’s your “birthday weekend” or “birthday week,” right? If you turn 18 on a Sunday, it’s your birthday weekend. If you turn 40 on a Wednesday, it’s your birthday week. If you turn 21 in October then…you get the idea.
James Maury Henson was born on Thursday, September 24, 1936. His birthday is always cause for celebration, and even more so because it coincides with Steve Whitmire’s birthday (the successor to Kermit the Frog). Every year Muppet fans make the obligatory remark about how odd that is, and watch The Muppet Movie, or whatever their favorite Muppet productions are. It’s always fun, as we celebrate the man behind the Muppets.
This year Jim would turn 79. It’s been 60 years now since Sam and Friends first appeared on Washington, DC television sets. 46 years since Sesame Street began. 39 years since The Muppet Show first aired. 6 years since The Muppet Show Season 3 DVD was released (6 long years, Disney!!).
This year feels a little different than past years, for Jim’s b-day. Three fun and interesting things seem to be happening all within a very short time of each other. It started on September 12, when Frank Oz appeared on NPR’s Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me, to play games and have a few laughs, and even talk about his life working with his best friend Jim Henson. They even asked him to do some voices, and he gave a very pleasant and firm “No,” as expected.
Then, PBS aired a special episode of In Their Own Words, spotlighting Jim Henson. Jim’s words were prominently featured, as were some of his greatest friends, colleagues, and admirers. People like Frank Oz, Brian, Lisa, Cheryl, and Heather Henson, Michael Eisner, Neil Patrick Harris, and even Willard Scott. Henson biographer Brian Jay Jones contributed greatly to the storytelling, thanks to the outstanding research he did in his book.
And finally, the cake topper of cake toppers, a birthday present that’s more for we the fans than for Jim himself (although I’m sure he’s smiling down at all of us), his cherished creations, Kermit and friends, return to the medium that fascinated him from the time he was a teenager. The Muppets premieres on ABC in an all-new weekly primetime slot for a full season of mayhem, comedy, music (hopefully), and unforgettable moments. The Muppets will continue, because we want them to, just like Jim said, in his own words.