James Maury Henson was born September 24, 1936, in Greenville, Mississippi, the second son of Paul Ransom and Elizabeth Marcella Henson. He grew up in nearby Leland, where his father, an agronomist, worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. His childhood was a happy one, as he explored both his artistic interests and the local countryside, whether alone or with friends. One of his childhood friends, Kermit, would later inspire the name of Henson's most celebrated creation. When he was in fifth grade, his family returned to Maryland. Henson's first television appearance occurred while he was still in high school, performing puppets on a local Washington, D.C., Saturday morning program on WTOP-TV. While a freshman at the University of Maryland, he turned professional when a local NBC affiliate hired him to do a five-minute late-night show called "Sam and Friends." His first performing partner, Jane Nebel, would later become his wife.
In creating the "muppets"a combination of......
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