Directed by Don Mischer Country of origin United States First episode date 21 November 1990 Director Don Mischer | Composer(s) Larry Grossman Original language(s) English Network CBS | |
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Written by Jerry Juhl
Bill Prady
Sara Luckinson Starring Dave Goelz
Jerry Nelson
Richard Hunt
Steve Whitmire
Kevin Clash
Kathy Mullen
Frank Oz Awards WGA Award for Best Comedy/Variety - Music, Awards, Tributes - Specials - Television Screenplay Jerry Juhl, Bill Prady, Sara Lukinson Executive producers Don Mischer, Martin G. Baker, David J. Goldberg Similar The Muppets on Puppets, The Muppets: A Celebrati, A Muppets Christmas: Letters to, The Muppets at Walt Disn, The Muppet Movie | ||
The muppets celebrate jim henson
The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson is a one-hour special that aired on CBS on November 21, 1990. The program was a tribute to Muppet creator Jim Henson, who had died earlier in 1990 due to toxic shock syndrome caused by a streptococcus infection, and featured characters from The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, and Sesame Street.
Contents
It marked Steve Whitmire's first onscreen performance as Kermit the Frog. This was also one of Richard Hunt's final puppetry works before his death in 1992.
Plot
Kermit the Frog is away traveling, leaving Fozzie Bear and the other Muppets in charge of the week's production number. On the day of the show, the Muppets receive a letter from Kermit informing them the production number is meant to pay tribute to Jim Henson. However, the group is unfamiliar with who Henson is. The rest of the special depicts the Muppets figuring out Jim Henson's relation to them, while simultaneously creating the production number.
Through the course of the special, interviews of several special guests are shown (including Carol Burnett, Ray Charles, John Denver, Steven Spielberg, Harry Belafonte and Frank Oz), where each guest recounts their personal experiences with Henson and his contributions to film, television, puppetry and philanthropy.
As the Muppets are nearing the presentation of their tribute number, Fozzie discovers some of Jim Henson's fan mail. One letter addressed to Kermit initially starts out cheerfully, but then turns to sorrow when the letter reveals that Henson has since died. Shocked, the Muppets take turns reading different letters from fans. Finally, Fozzie decides to cancel the production number, deeming it improper for the occasion. Kermit's nephew Robin tries to convince Fozzie otherwise by breaking into "Just One Person" (which was composed for "Snoopy: The Musical" in 1975 and featured in the Bernadette Peters episode of The Muppet Show in 1977). Eventually the song becomes a large musical number with characters from Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock joining in. As the Muppets finish singing, Kermit arrives and congratulates the group on finding the proper way of honoring Jim Henson. Kermit decides to enact Fozzie's original production number and addresses the audience, ensuring that the Muppets will continue to perform because "that's the way the boss would want it."
Cast
Muppet performers
Additional Muppets performed by Pam Arciero, Camille Bonora, Fran Brill, Jim Martin, Joey Mazzarino, Peter MacKennan, Carmen Osbahr, Martin P. Robinson, David Rudman, Cheryl Henson, Bill Prady