Jim Henson passed away on this day, May 16, 1990. I was 12 years old, and I remember the moment I heard about it. It was in the evening, the sun was setting, and I was going out my front door to go play with my younger twin brothers in the yard. I was sad when I heard. I still went outside and played, but that’s beside the point. I also remember the precise spot on the planet on which I stood, when I first heard that James Maury Henson had left it. I bet you do too.
I’ve had many experiences that I feel brought me “close” to Jim. I’ve had the greatly undeserved (but deeply appreciated) good fortune to meet several people who new and worked with him, and who are even related to him. The closest I’ve ever personally felt to him was in July 2010, when Joe Hennes and I peeked into the mail slot of the empty townhouse at 117 E 69th St, in New York City, better known as the Henson Townhouse. It was dark and quiet. Everything inside it (and there wasn’t much) had settled down, and looked like it hadn’t been touched in years. Not like a Disney movie, where everything comes to life. The exact opposite. Everything used to come to life in there, and now it didn’t anymore. It looked like you were looking into the past life of a building. The staircase is what I most distinctly remember. Imagining the lights, the sounds of people, the bevy of activity, and creativity that took place there, displaced by 20 years at that time. Decades which left dust and emptiness, and vacant space for someone else to fill.
But Jim was there. He had been there. And I could feel it.
Everything Jim Henson ever created has made me happy. I can’t say that for anything or anyone else, ever. I can’t even say that of The Beatles or Walt Disney, and those are the only other people who would be in the running. Jim always makes me smile, except for today, this day every year, and that really isn’t his fault. We’re here, and then we’re gone, and there may or may not be a reason for either of those things, when they happen. Jim wanted to live a life so that, by the time it happened to him, it was a better place. Because he was here, it was. It is. And even writing this, I’m listening to Billy Joel sing “Just the Way You Are” to Oscar the Grouch, and that’s making me smile. So I guess I’m not that sad. I just want Jim to still be alive, to be here, and maybe that’s not quite the same as being sad. One of my favorite things Jim ever said was “It’s a good life, enjoy it.” His work makes that a whole lot easier.
I should watch the Muppets more often. Maybe everybody should.
Lots of people in our little community are writing things today. You should go read all of them. I’d tell you to stop reading mine and go read theirs, but I’m almost done now. Jim Henson’s legacy is his work, and since we still watch it and love it, and pass it onto our children, we play a part of that legacy too. It’s’ magic. Like Fraggles. Except that Fraggles aren’t real. But Jim made me believe they could be. Same with magic.
Jim Henson was one of the best people who ever lived, and one of the most wonderfully creative geniuses – with the determination to keep finding ways to give us the happiness of his gifts – who ever lived. He was tirelessly brilliant. There may be people who come from the past and the future who can do things like what Jim did, but they’ll never be Jim. We might see his “similar”, but we’ll never see his equal. There is vacant space here now, two and a half decades after he left us; it’s an emptiness left behind for someone else to step in and fill. And they’ll try to fill it. And they’ll do a pretty good job. But they won’t be Jim. And that’s okay.
Jim Henson was here.
And the world is a better place for it.
On Friday, May 6, 
Even in the midst of this modernizing and digitizing, however, Sesame Workshop has not wavered from its educational focus. Kay Wilson, Sesame Workshop Sr. VP of Creative Development, said, “Our goal is what it’s always been: to engage children with compelling, meaningful content…We want new content, new characters and new creative…We look at this as being a whole new crop of Creative talent. Kids who love Sesame Street are going to love Sesame Studios, and others will find that it is different and fresh.”
Uncle Deadly is often seen as a “one-off” character who acted as a “horror” character compared to his cute and cuddly counterparts. Between the 2011 “The Muppets” film and the 2015 television series of the same name, Uncle Deadly has made a triumphant comeback into the world of the Muppets and become popular enough to win the 2016 Muppet Madness Tournament, beating Fozzie Bear, one of the most beloved Muppet characters of all time.
Uncle Deadly’s backstory was highlighted in the Twiggy episode of “The Muppet Show”, in which everyone backstage is being terrorized by “The Phantom of the Muppet Show”, and Kermit isn’t buying it. Until Kermit learns that the Phantom is none other than Uncle Deadly, a monster-actor who performed in the theater years ago and vowed never to perform there again after being killed by the critics. Deadly also vowed to never let anyone else perform there and warns the Muppets to “Leave or be doomed!” When Deadly leaves, Kermit and the other Muppets discover the phantom was all a joke when they find George the Janitor wearing an old mask. Except just as everyone calms down, Uncle Deadly returns and the Muppets run off in different directions, as Uncle Deadly exclaims, “That may have been one of the greatest performances of my career.”
In 2011, after going unused for 20 years, Uncle Deadly returned in “The Muppets” as the second-in-command to Tex Richman, alongside Bobo the Bear. Uncle Deadly realizes his mistake helping Richman demolish the Muppet Theater and declares that he too is a Muppet, forcing Richman off the theater roof before he can cut the wires on the transmission tower and cut the telethon broadcast. He then joins the Muppets for the finale version of “Life’s a Happy Song.” He later appeared in “Muppets Most Wanted” as the organist at Miss Piggy’s wedding.
So now, in 2016, we have witnessed a Muppet comeback like never before. Uncle Deadly went from the depths of Muppet obscurity to a prominent cast member on the new television series. Why has Uncle Deadly quickly risen in the ranks to the likes of Kermit the Frog and even Fozzie Bear, as proven in the Muppet Madness tournament? I think for one thing, he attracts a different group of viewers. Uncle Deadly doesn’t look like his Muppet friends. He has a dark, horror movie monster inspired appearance that makes him look like he would better belong in the Universal monster group then the Muppets. I also think, especially in the new series, Uncle Deadly portrays himself as a stereotypical “gay best friend” to Piggy. I’m not implying in any way what any Muppet’s sexuality may be, but Deadly’s fondness for fashion and his close friendship with Miss Piggy simply makes his character more interesting, especially considering his horrific physical appearance. Have we seen the last of Uncle Deadly? Absolutely not! I think the character’s rise to stardom has only just begun, and he has the ability to attract a much larger audience into the Muppet universe.
