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James Maury Henson was born in Leland Mississippi -
Jim Henson began working at the WTOP-TV for The Junior Morning Show as a puppeteer -
Jim Henson attended the University of Maryland
(Fun fact: there is a statue of him talking to Kermit on a bench there!" -
Jane and Jim met in a puppetry course at the University of Maryland, College Park. -
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Jim Henson starts working at WRC-TV for the Sam and Friends show, starring some characters that would later become muppets -
Jim's brother John Henson Jr died in a car crash, which made Jim very depressed -
Jim founds his first company, Muppets Inc -
Jim and Jane get married after meeting in college and working together on Sam and Friends -
He graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Science degree in home economics -
Jim and Jane have their first child, Lisa.
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The muppets first pilot for a show, which heavily featured Kermit the frog (species unknown at the time) -
Rowlf the Dog was performed on the Jimmy Dean Show, which led to lots of publicity
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Jim's short experimental film, Time Piece, airs. It was later nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film in 1966 -
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Jim airs his short documentary, Youth 68, covering the various lifestyles of the 1960's -
Jim begins working with the Childrens television workshop on Sesame Street -
Jim produces the television drama "The Cube" about a man trapped in a cube who is visited by strange characters. -
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The Muppet film "The Great Santa Claus Switch" premieres on CBS -
The Muppet Valentine Show airs on ABC, as a pilot for what would become the Muppet Show. -
Another pilot for The Muppet Show airs, called Sex and Violence, in an attempt to distance itself from children's puppetry. -
The Muppet Show is finally funded by Lord Lew Grade, and airs on ATV and ITC -
The Muppet Show becomes the most popular television program in the world
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Jim meets artist Brian Froud, and began working on concepts for films that would later become The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth -
Jim creates the Jim Henson Creature shop, which is a special effects house and puppet workshop in London, it would later open a second shop in new york. -
The Muppet Movie premieres as the first of a series of live-action musical feature films starring the Muppets. -
The Great Muppet Caper begins showing -
Jim's first film featuring puppets (not muppets), The Dark Crystal, premiers, which was not well received at first. -
Fraggle Rock airs as an international production which intended to unite countries. -
The Muppets Take Manhattan premieres. It was written and directed by Frank Oz -
Production of Labyrinth begins. -
Jim and Jane Henson chose to separate personally as Jane felt he had left his family behind while he was distracted by his work. -
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The storyteller earned two Hugos, two BAFTAs, and an Emmy throughout the 9 episode show -
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The Jim Henson Hour airs. It was meant to be a variety show that showed modern advances in film techniques and other guest puppeteers. -
Jim began to film for the 3D attraction Muppet*Vision 3D for Disney World (even though the deal hadn't gone through officially) -
Henson appeared with Kermit on The Arsenio Hall Show in Los Angeles -
Jim died of Toxic shock syndrome caused by Group A streptococcal infection after feeling ill for a few days and not attending a doctor. -
Jim's memorial service was held at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. He had many specific requests, explained in a note written four years before his death. He specifically wanted everyone to wear colorful outfits, a Dixieland band, some happy and joyful songs from the mourners who can sing, "nice, happy words," and stories from his friends. -
Muppet*Vision 3D opens in Disney World exactly one year after Jim's death