Henson and Kermit in 1984.(Getty Images)
Muppet creator Jim Henson was born on September 24, 1936. The late director, producer and writer who teamed up with Children’s Television Workshop to produce Sesame Street is considered one history’s greatest puppeteers. Henson, who died unexpectedly in 1990 from pneumonia when he was 53, also created the Muppet Show and the Muppet movies. As Robin the Frog said in a tribute to Henson, “This Jim Henson may be gone, but maybe he’s still here too, inside us, believing in us.”
Henson first introduced Kermit the Frog to TV audiences on The Tonight Show with Steve Allen in 1956. ”I suppose that he’s an alter ego,” Henson once said about the frog who he puppeteered until his death. ”But he’s a little snarkier than I am — slightly wise. Kermit says things I hold myself back from saying.”
Henson shared many inspiring words of wisdom during his lifetime. Celebrate his life and legacy with some of his quotes that we adore. Click through the gallery to read them all.