Name Brian Henson Role Puppeteer | Parents Jane Henson, Jim Henson Children Amelia Jane Henson | |
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Born November 3, 1963 (age 61) ( 1963-11-03 ) New York City Occupation Puppeteer, director, producer and technician Relatives Siblings Lisa Henson, John Henson, Cheryl Henson, Heather Henson Movies and TV shows Labyrinth, The Muppet Christma, Muppet Treasure Island, Jim Henson's Creature, The Storyteller Similar People | ||
Geitf 2013 brian henson s evolution of puppetry
Brian Henson (born November 3, 1963, in New York City) is an American puppeteer, director, producer, technician, and the chairman of The Jim Henson Company. He is the son of puppeteers Jim and Jane Henson.
Contents
- Geitf 2013 brian henson s evolution of puppetry
- Live muppet puppeteering featuring brian henson at the 2011 d23 expo
- Early life
- Film
- Television
- Other ventures
- References
Live muppet puppeteering featuring brian henson at the 2011 d23 expo
Early life
Brian Henson was the middle child and first born son of Jane Henson (1934–2013) and Jim Henson (1936–1990). He had four siblings: Lisa (born 1960), Cheryl (born 1961), John (1965–2014), and Heather Henson (born 1970). As a child, he made several cameo appearances in some of the filmed segments his father produced for the PBS children's series Sesame Street, most notably in various segments of the "Number Song Series." As he got older, he built the very first Muppet penguin puppet for the opening "Lullaby of Broadway" segment of a season three episode of The Muppet Show, guest starring Gilda Radner. During his summer break from high school in 1980, he assisted in the bicycle sequence from The Great Muppet Caper (1981). He helped create and operate a special rigging device that was created to allow the Muppets to ride bicycles since he was skilled in the use of marionette puppets. A few years later, he similarly operated a marionette of Scooter riding a bicycle in The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984).
Film
During the 1980s, Henson performed Jack Pumpkinhead in Return to Oz (1985), operated special effects for Santa Claus: The Movie (1985), and was a principal performer for the Audrey II puppet in Little Shop of Horrors (1986), controlling mouth movement while others performed the lips and vines. In addition, he also performed the voice of Hoggle, one of the main characters in his father's film Labyrinth (1986), and the Dog in both versions of The Storyteller (1988 and 1990).
In 1992, Henson directed The Muppet Christmas Carol and directed the next film in the franchise, Muppet Treasure Island, in 1996. He performed the role of Dr. Phil van Neuter, the Muppet mad scientist in Muppets from Space (1999).
Television
Henson was the executive producer for several television series: Dinosaurs (1991–94), Aliens in the Family (1996), Bear in the Big Blue House (1997-2006), and Farscape (1999-2003). In addition to an executive producer's role Henson played himself as the head judge on the 2014 reality TV show Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge. He performed the roles of Janice and Scooter in the 2002 made-for-TV movie It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie.
Other ventures
Henson is the co-creator, producer, and currently a performer in the adult-themed puppet-based variety show Puppet Up!, and played various characters from that variety show on the British program That Puppet Game Show.
For 2001's "The Muppet Show Live", in addition to performing his own Muppet characters, Henson also performed one of his father's characters, The Muppet Newsman, for the first time. He reprised the role for the 2003 video game "Muppets Party Cruise".