Give Jim Henson 15 minutes of your time, and the father of the Muppets will teach you how to make your own puppets, using nothing other than household items – socks, potatoes, tacks, tennis balls, rubber bands, wooden spoons, and the rest. This primer originally aired on Iowa Public Television back in 1969, not long before Henson joined a fledgling TV production, Sesame Street, where he helped create the most famous puppets of our generation: Oscar, Ernie, Kermit, Bert, Cookie Monster, Big Bird and the rest. Though recorded 40+ years ago, the advice is simple and timeless. The man knows of what he speaks…
Thanks Sarah for sending our way.
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Wow this video was really fun to watch – I love Jim Henson! Thanks so much for finding this and sharing it.
As someone who writes about a time when most toys were handmade at home, I feel sure that there are few people in the last century who changed children’s lives for the better more than Jim Henson.
this was a great video… do you know where we can watch the next one? at the end of this one Jim Henson says that in the next show he’s going to show how to give the puppets characters… i’d like to watch that one too!
Amazing how Jim’s natural voice is so easily recognizable as Kermit!
Coool! I grew up with this stuff. i am twenty-five, and i still like that.
Thank you for discovering this. Jim Henson is astonishing. But let us not forget dear, sweet Shari Lewis and her creations Lamb Chop and Hush Puppy.
What a great teacher Jim Henson is. His legacy is live. Thanks a lot for sharing.