Reruns of The Muppet Show I remember seeing on Nickelodeon, and when our family stayed at The Disneyland Hotel in the Summer of 1990, a complimentary copy of the Disney News magazine was on our bed, featuring both Jim and Kermit on the cover (though Jim had passed away that Spring).

My early days were punctuated with viewings of Sesame Street, not to mention a rather tatty-looking Kermit puppet my parents had (see left). Probably not as high on my inspirational totem pole, Jim Henson is still a name that I could not forget from my youth. These three books were on my mind when I finally picked up Brian Jay Jones’ biography on Jim Henson, a book I had heard about for a few years. In their hands, Disney and Schulz were made out to be withdrawn geniuses, who seemed to shun the contact of family, and rarely seemed to care for anyone’s opinion beyond their own (these biographies would later be criticized by each family in how these men were portrayed). Gabler and Michaelis’ books on the other hand, had decided to create an archetype around their historical figures. His writing method allowed the reader to draw their own conclusions on just who Steve Jobs was. Of the three, Isaacson’s book was the one I couldn’t stop turning the pages on. In the last 9 years, I have managed to read Neal Gabler’s Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination, David Michaelis’ Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography, and Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs. The last decade has brought forth biographies that seemed to delve incredibly deep into several lives moreso than those that I had read when growing up. Embrace and open up your love, your joy, your truth, and most especially your heart” – Jim HensonĪs I’ve mentioned in previous book reviews, biographies regarding creative people, have been hit-or-miss for me on quite a few occasions.

Love everyone and forgive everyone, including yourself.

Jim henson by brian jay jones