Timothy Dale - Jim Henson and Philosophy: Imagination and the Magic of Mayhem

Jim Henson and Philosophy

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Jim Henson and philosophy : imagination and the magic of mayhem / edited by Timothy M. Dale and Joseph J. Foy ; foreword by Craig Yoe.

pages cm

ISBN 978-1-4422-4664-5 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN 978-1-4422-4665-2 (electronic)

1. Henson, JimCriticism and interpretation 2. Creative abilityPhilosophy. 3. PuppeteersUnited States. 4. Television producers and directorsUnited States. 5. Motion picture producers and directorsUnited States. 6. Muppets (Fictitious characters) I. Dale, Timothy, editor. II. Foy, Joseph J., editor.

PN1982.H46J55 2015

791.5'3092dc23

2014048935

TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

Craig Yoe

The Foolish Philosophy of Jim Henson That All
Smart People Should Embrace

My first day on the job as a creative director at Jim Henson Productions
I got a call from The Man himself.

Jim was in LA at that time and not at the beautiful wonderland, the Victorian brownstone on the Upper East Side of New York City that housed the headquarters of the Muppet operation. The tall, bearded, celebrated puppeteer wanted to warmly welcome me to the team, but he apologized that he had to do so long-distance.

The voice on the other end of the phone took me by surprise. It oddly didnt sound like a man at all to me!

The voice sounded like a beloved frog. Yes, that beloved frog: Kermit himself!

Actually, Jims natural voice was an ever-so-slightly lower-pitched version of the emerald amphibian, that love of Miss Piggy and of many, many fans around the world, including me and you.

He was quite calming, always creative, positive, encouraging, gentle. His Kermit-y voice in a very soft way loudly proclaimed all of these wonderful, endearing attributes.

And the stupendous thing about Jim is he didnt just speak.

Jim listened.

Intently.

With ideas in my little hand scrawled or sketched on a yellow legal-sized pad, Id pop into his office a few steps across the hall from mine after he had promoted me to creative director/vice president general manager. I was always struck by how Jim would give me, and anyone and everyone, from leaders of the world to the janitor at the Muppet studio, his undivided and complete attention when they had a thought or idea they wanted to share.

John Denver may have just left Jims office after discussing a public-service commercial with him and Kermit to promote environmental awareness. And Barbara Bush might be arriving in a second to brainstorm with Jim on how they could work together to foment childrens literacy. But when you would slip into his office between those visits, Jim was in the moment and carefully listened to and considered... Your. Every. Word.

One time, Jim gathered a group around the beautiful dark mahogany Muppet conference room table and began the meeting by proclaiming, Lets think of an idea that will bring peace to the world in our lifetime. Maybe that was Jims philosophy boiled down to the essence. Totally unrealistic. Naive. Foolish. But as Jim contributed and listened that day, the warm, fuzzy world of Fraggle Rock was created. A valiant attempt toward world peace!

A cherished moment I remember of interaction with Jim: The puppet master added to my responsibilities by having me head up the Creature Shop in New York, where ber-talented folks sewed and glued fur and feathers to make the Muppet puppets. A creature had just been created for a movie we were working on, and Jim and I walked from the Victorian townhouse a couple of short blocks to the nearby shop to see the newborn.

The designers explained their thoughts that went into the bunch of cloth and ping-pong balls lying on the table as Jim listened intently. The designers concluded.

There was a pause.

Jim slowly picked up the puppet, turning it around as his intense, sparkling eyes examined it. He then slid his large hand into the concoction. He tried some movements and a voice and... like breathtaking magic... the creature came to life! Im telling you, this assemblage of faux fur and dyed feathers lived and breathed! My jaw dropped! I gasped a little. This experience had caught me so off guard! Two and a half decades later, Im still astounded by what this amazing Wizard of Ahs did at that moment!

At noon on May 15, 1990, Jim and I had a lunch scheduled. Outside the offices there was a torrential downpour. Jim had a bad cold and cough, but we braved the spring storm anyway. I didnt have an umbrella, so Jim shared his little and slightly beat-up one. Jim being tall and me not-so-much, and sheets of rain and trying to shield ourselves with this crappy bumbershootwe made quite a sight. And we didnt do so great avoiding the flood coming down from the sky. We arrived at the Italian bistro soaking wet from head to feet.

At a table in the back, over our pasta, Jim expressed affection for the people he had gathered around him and, between his sneezes and coughs, talked excitedly about future directions and projects the company was going to undertake.

In a few short hours Jim Henson was gone.

The life was taken from him.

When Im working late at night in my studio, I can almost hear his soothing voice gently pushing for creativity, humor, and quality, and expressing words of encouragement...

Its not easy, him being gone.

Peace,

Craig Yoe

Craig Yoe, former creative director and manager of the Muppets, now creates books collecting classic comic material (including the work of cartoonist Walt Kelly, which Jim loved) and contemporary positive-message comic books for kids in twenty-three countries that are foolish attempts to bring peace to the world in our lifetime. His creations with his partner, Clizia Gussoni, can be seen at YoeBooks.com.

The editors would like to thank each of the contributors to this volume for their essays and insights, as well as everyone at Rowman & Littlefield for supporting this project. A special thank you to Craig Yoe for sharing his experiences and giving us a glimpse into the creative genius inspired by Jim Henson.

Timothy: I would like to thank hmy colleagues at the University of WisconsinLa Crosse for their friendship and support. I am thankful to work at an institution that values both teaching and research, and encourages scholarly work that aims to be meaningful as well as accessible. I also thank my students, who inspire me by asking profound questions about the world, and then help me look for answers. Most especially,