Jim Henson's Red Book

4/10-11/1984 – ‘Shoot Muppet Babies MTV’

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Administrator

With the popularity of MTV and Jim’s relationship with HBO via Fraggle Rock in the early 1980s, it’s no surprise that the Muppets made their own music video to air on both cable TV channels in 1984. The freestyle approach of most music videos, mixing an array of visuals and effects to create a narrative of sorts to accompany a song was just the sort of project that intrigued Jim. And the musical number, “I’m Gonna Always Love You” with the Muppet Babies puppets created for The Muppets Take Manhattan was an ideal jumping off point. Directed by Jim with Jeff Moss’s song remixed by John “Jellybean” Benitez, the video combined footage from the film with newly created footage parodying a variety of music videos then on the air. There was a real frog (named Vito) in a Kermit collar and a real pearl-wearing pig (named Dorothy Pig Newton.) Jim even made a cameo, wearing Devo style glasses and oversized Kermit feet.

Clearly, everyone involved had a good time during the shoot and production notes provided to the public relations team described some of the behind the scenes activities: The set was made surrealistically large – much larger than the one used in the movie, and each shot was kept to three seconds or less. Dorothy (the pig) ate three giant boxes of Fig Newtons during the shoot. And when they were finished, Jim bet the set designer John Davis (a former football player at Ol’ Miss) five dollars that he couldn’t hit the set window with a football at 25 feet. He hit (and smashed) the window on the first throw.

The video was a hit – it was named as a finalist at the 1985 VPA Monitor Awards in the Best Achievement in Music Video category, and Jim was named finalist in the Best Director category. The Muppet Babies got a boost in their visibility among a range of audiences, helping their animated show achieve popularity very quickly after it premiered in September 1984. In addition, Jim was inspired by the innovative approach to imagery and narrative used in making music videos and sought to replicate some of that when he began producing his Storyteller series in 1986, hiring several directors with music video experience.

“I’m Gonna Always Love You” music video storyboard featuring an embryonic Miss Piggy, 1984.

The Muppets Babies in their animated series, co-produced with Marvel, 1980s.

Topics: 04-April '84, 1984, Muppet Babies | Tagged Fraggle Rock, HBO, Jeff Moss, John Davis, Kermit, MTV, Muppets, Storyteller, The Muppets Take Manhattan

4/10/1974 – ‘Go to Providence with Bonnie and Dave Connell to see Ice Follies.’

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Administrator

When Jim went to Providence with puppet builder Bonnie Erickson and Sesame Street Executive Producer Dave Connell, they were developing a Sesame Street segment for the touring Ice Follies show produced by Shipstads and Johnson. This was another opportunity to get the characters to new audiences and to spread Sesame Street’s educational messages in a new way. Jim was intensely involved in the planning, choosing characters and songs and writing script passages.

The Sesame Street part premiered in “The Ice Follies of 1975” which actually opened in LA on September 4, 1974 and at New York’s Madison Square Garden on September 26, 1974. Clive Barnes of The New York Times described the show as, “Half bad ballet, half good circus, with more than a touch of Busby Berkeley to it…” He continued, “This year, to the screaming delight of the children, the Muppets from Sesame Street are present, with Bert, Big Bird, the Cookie Monster (who looks gorgeous on skates), the Count, and, perhaps best of all, that prehistoric and wilting mastodon, Snuffle-upagus.” Variety’s review also noted that the Sesame Street segment was one of the show’s highlights.

Jim was a great admirer of Charles Schultz and his comic strip Peanuts. Learn about their connection through the Ice Follies.

Rollie Krewson models the Ernie Ice Follies costume in the Henson workshop, 1970s.

Jim and Kermit Love discuss building characters for the Ice Follies, 1970s.

The Sesame Street gang as pictured in the 1978 program for Holiday on Ice

Michael Frith’s sketch of Cookie Monster on ice skates, 1970s.

Topics: 04-April '74, 1974, Sesame Street | Tagged Bonnie Erickson, Clive Barnes, Dave Connell, ice follies, Providence, Sesame Street

4/8-10/1983 – ‘Music Ed Meeting NYC’

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Administrator

Jim’s embrace of all types of music was evident from the range of styles and performances showcased on his first show, Sam and Friends, and in a big way on The Muppet Show. Fraggle Rock’s original music also celebrated the diversity of expression available through song. It was clear from Jim’s experience on Sesame Street that music was a great educational tool, too, and he was enthusiastic about pursuing a suggestion from his colleague Jocelyn Stevenson about focusing a television show on it. Read about the development of this project which, in 1988, emerged on television as The Ghost

Abstract musicians created by Jim for an animated short film featuring the music of Chico Hamilton, c. 1963.

Michael Frith’s flute design for Fraggle Rock.

John Percival’s illustration of Mel and Moto from The Ghost of Faffner Hall, late 1980s.

of Faffner Hall.

Topics: 04-April '83, 1983, Ghost of Faffner Hall | Tagged Fraggle Rock, Jocelyn Stevenson, Sam and Friends, Sesame Street, The Muppet Show

4/8/1984 – ‘F.A.O. Schwarz opens Muppet Boutique.’

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Administrator

Given that FAO Schwarz is New York’s premiere toy store, it’s no surprise that there is a long history of collaboration with Jim’s company. Where better to showcase the quality product featuring Jim’s characters than in a fantasy land right on Fifth Avenue? In 1983, Muppet Magazine celebrated its first anniversary with a party in the store. In 1984, Jim and his team created the first themed “shop-within-a-shop” boutique of any kind at FAO Schwarz. Art director Michael Frith oversaw the design of the space, fashioned to look like a Victorian theater lobby. Video players showed Henson programming and during the opening party, The Fraggle Rock Radish Jam & Cartwheel Society led a sing-along.

The FAO Schwarz Muppet Boutique highlighted Jim’s soon to be released film, The Muppets Take Manhattan, some of which had been shot across the street in Central Park. Already, the newest characters coming out of the movie, the Muppet Babies, were proving to be the darlings of the consumer product world and they were featured prominently in the boutique. They would get their own boutique at Macy’s later that year.

Fast forward almost thirty years to April 2013 (now!) and head over to FAO Schwarz. Once again, Jim’s characters are being featured in their own boutique there – this time in celebration of Fraggle Rock’s 30th Anniversary. Check out some historical props and costumes from the original show during the month of April and take home a Fraggle toy.

Toys, Hobbies and Crafts magazine coverage of the Muppet boutique at FAO Schwarz, June 1984.

Elmo on the cover of FAO Schwarz’s catalogue, 1997.

Topics: 04-April '84, 1984, Muppets Take Manhattan | Tagged F.A.O Schwarz, FAO Schwarz, Michael Frith, Muppet Babies, Muppet Boutique

4/7/1980 – ‘Brooke Shields (MS)’

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Administrator

When a teenaged Brooke Shields (just shy of 15) entered the Muppet Theater for her guest star stint, she literally fell down the rabbit hole and spent the show in a convoluted Alice in Wonderland themed story. She encountered the White Rabbit and Floyd as the caterpillar among other familiar faces. Gonzo was type-cast as the Mad Hatter. Like Alice, Shields had size issues and put herself in Dr. Bunsen Honeydew’s not-so-capable hands, eventually getting back to her normal size. Fozzie, meanwhile, was sad to hear that the Tin Woodsman was not in the story, and Dr. Teeth tried to cheer him up with his Cheshire-Cat-like smile. The Jabberwocky poem gave Jim a chance to bring out some of the more abstract characters as Rowlf and Scooter reveled in Lewis Carroll’s inventive language. A disastrous tea party finale was rescued by Fozzie leading the gang in a rousing rendition of “We’re off to See the Wizard.”

Shields was already known for acting in dramatic roles and modeling, but it was hard to see what she might do in a comedy/variety show. “We thought about it a lot,” Jim remarked, “and came up with the idea of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ as the show’s theme. Brooke seemed such a perfect Alice.” The book had been a childhood favorite of Jim’s, and several Henson projects in the ensuing years would relate to it, including Labyrinth. He had three daughters of his own and enjoyed working with one of their peers. Shields also seemed to have had a good experience, writing Jim an effusive thank-you note. Twenty-one years later, Shields joined the gang again for the Muppetfest live Muppet Show, gamely dressing as Miss Piggy.

Brooke Shields as Alice in Wonderland on The Muppet Show, 1980.

The title page and inscription from Jim’s childhood copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Henson Creature Shop characters created for Dreamchild, a 1984 film about Alice in Wonderland.

Topics: 04-April '80, 1980, Muppet Show | Tagged Brooke Shields, Labyrinth