Make Art Make Money: Lessons From Jim Henson on Fueling Your Creative Career by Elizabeth Hyde Stevens Page A
Authors: Elizabeth Hyde Stevens
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Henson’s whole family
gathered together at his grandmother’s house: “fifteen or twenty people would
be there … my family, sitting around the dinner table, making each other
laugh.” [11] Was Henson’s a family of storytellers because they listened to the radio, or
did they listen to the radio because they were a family of storytellers?
Whichever the case, this image of a whole family gathered in one place—grandparents,
adults, children, laughing at the same thing—seems to be at the core of
Henson’s artistic mission. He didn’t want to entertain only the men, only the
housewives, only the children. Henson’s happy memories of his whole family
coming together as a child and laughing—it seemed to give him hope that
differences can be overcome. Even serious cultural conflicts.
Fraggle Rock doesn’t seem like a place
for war, but in the episode entitled “Fraggle Wars,” Mokey is kidnapped by a
group of stranger-Fraggles. The World’s Oldest Fraggle then tries to convince
his people to hate them: “They’re not the same as you and me. Their kind just
lives for cruelty. They never laugh. They never even smile.”
It is clearly a Cold War satire with McCarthyism
overtones, since Mokey is forced to repeat, “My name is Mokey Fraggle. I am not
now nor have I ever been a member of the enemy Fraggles.” With a little
laughter, Red Fraggle and Beige—one of the enemy Fraggles—diffuse the conflict:
the other Fraggles think that the funniest thing about throwing a pie in
someone’s face is getting to clean it all up. While they have different senses
of humor, they both think pie-facing is good fun. Red and Beige count to
three and pie-face their leaders, which causes everyone to laugh at the same
time. When both armies devolve into laughter, the war ends.
This seemed to be Henson’s great wish for the
world. Like Edgar Bergen on the radio making dad and son laugh at the same
time, Henson believed that puppetry could help the world overcome cultural
conflicts. Fraggle Rock was designed, in fact, to be shown in many
countries all over the world. Henson’s shows, he hoped, could be that pie in
the face.
In recalling the origins of the show, creative
consultants Jocelyn Stevenson and Duncan Kenworthy explained that a business
advisor had pitched to Henson the idea of an international kids’ show, a
business idea:
Jocelyn Stevenson: Jim took that and sort of
thinking, okay international co-production for children, that means we can
reach a lot of children around the world … Hmm, why don’t we do a series
that will help stop war?
Duncan Kenworthy: And we all I think separately had this
same reaction where we all like laughed at him, because it was like how are you
going to make a children’s series to stop war in the world, it’s such a—on the
face of it—impossible, enormous, grandiose sort of idea. But …
Stevenson: That’s how he was.
Kenworthy: That was how he was. [12]
Most of us would feel foolish for thinking we
could stop war in the world. And most of us wouldn’t even try. But Henson
thought differently, as he always seemed to. Part of this difference was that
he wasn’t deluded by the thinking of any particular group of people. He didn’t
think about groups in the way that we do. A pie in the face reminds us not to
take anything or anyone too seriously.
Henson’s experience led him to think this way. His
work in puppetry opened doors and helped him transcend his country and class. There
is a picture of Henson shaking hands with Vice President Nixon when he won a
local TV award at age twenty-two. [13] On one visit to the Nixon White House, Caroll Spinney “ran to the top of the
stairs and slid all the way down the banister.” [14] Through puppetry, Henson performed for Queen Elizabeth II, [15] for First Lady Rosalynn Carter at the White House, [16] and had the honor of screening The Labyrinth for Princess Diana. [17] The laughter that his characters inspired was able to break
gathered together at his grandmother’s house: “fifteen or twenty people would
be there … my family, sitting around the dinner table, making each other
laugh.” [11] Was Henson’s a family of storytellers because they listened to the radio, or
did they listen to the radio because they were a family of storytellers?
Whichever the case, this image of a whole family gathered in one place—grandparents,
adults, children, laughing at the same thing—seems to be at the core of
Henson’s artistic mission. He didn’t want to entertain only the men, only the
housewives, only the children. Henson’s happy memories of his whole family
coming together as a child and laughing—it seemed to give him hope that
differences can be overcome. Even serious cultural conflicts.
Fraggle Rock doesn’t seem like a place
for war, but in the episode entitled “Fraggle Wars,” Mokey is kidnapped by a
group of stranger-Fraggles. The World’s Oldest Fraggle then tries to convince
his people to hate them: “They’re not the same as you and me. Their kind just
lives for cruelty. They never laugh. They never even smile.”
It is clearly a Cold War satire with McCarthyism
overtones, since Mokey is forced to repeat, “My name is Mokey Fraggle. I am not
now nor have I ever been a member of the enemy Fraggles.” With a little
laughter, Red Fraggle and Beige—one of the enemy Fraggles—diffuse the conflict:
the other Fraggles think that the funniest thing about throwing a pie in
someone’s face is getting to clean it all up. While they have different senses
of humor, they both think pie-facing is good fun. Red and Beige count to
three and pie-face their leaders, which causes everyone to laugh at the same
time. When both armies devolve into laughter, the war ends.
This seemed to be Henson’s great wish for the
world. Like Edgar Bergen on the radio making dad and son laugh at the same
time, Henson believed that puppetry could help the world overcome cultural
conflicts. Fraggle Rock was designed, in fact, to be shown in many
countries all over the world. Henson’s shows, he hoped, could be that pie in
the face.
In recalling the origins of the show, creative
consultants Jocelyn Stevenson and Duncan Kenworthy explained that a business
advisor had pitched to Henson the idea of an international kids’ show, a
business idea:
Jocelyn Stevenson: Jim took that and sort of
thinking, okay international co-production for children, that means we can
reach a lot of children around the world … Hmm, why don’t we do a series
that will help stop war?
Duncan Kenworthy: And we all I think separately had this
same reaction where we all like laughed at him, because it was like how are you
going to make a children’s series to stop war in the world, it’s such a—on the
face of it—impossible, enormous, grandiose sort of idea. But …
Stevenson: That’s how he was.
Kenworthy: That was how he was. [12]
Most of us would feel foolish for thinking we
could stop war in the world. And most of us wouldn’t even try. But Henson
thought differently, as he always seemed to. Part of this difference was that
he wasn’t deluded by the thinking of any particular group of people. He didn’t
think about groups in the way that we do. A pie in the face reminds us not to
take anything or anyone too seriously.
Henson’s experience led him to think this way. His
work in puppetry opened doors and helped him transcend his country and class. There
is a picture of Henson shaking hands with Vice President Nixon when he won a
local TV award at age twenty-two. [13] On one visit to the Nixon White House, Caroll Spinney “ran to the top of the
stairs and slid all the way down the banister.” [14] Through puppetry, Henson performed for Queen Elizabeth II, [15] for First Lady Rosalynn Carter at the White House, [16] and had the honor of screening The Labyrinth for Princess Diana. [17] The laughter that his characters inspired was able to break
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