Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Muppets Co-Creator Jane Henson Dies At 78
By
Jen Carlson
Published Apr 3, 2013
Modified Apr 3, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Carlson
Published Apr 3, 2013
Modified Apr 3, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Jane Henson at a ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in 2010, where she donated 10 of her late husband Jim Henson's characters. (Getty Images)
Last night the Jim Henson Co. released a statement saying that Jane Henson, co-creator of the Muppets, had died at the age of 78. The former wife of the late Jim Henson was at her home in Greenwich, CT at the time of her death, which came after a "long battle with cancer."
Jane, who was born in Queens, met Jim in a puppetry class in 1954 at the University of Maryland (they married five years later). While at the university, Jim had been offered a job on NBC affiliate WRC-TV in Washington, DC and he asked Jane along as his co-performer and creator, according to the Hollywood Reporter. It was there that the two ran a five-minute show called Sam and Friends, which aired before the Huntley-Brinkley Report and again after The Tonight Show—the show featured a little green guy who would become Kermit the Frog (he was more of a lizard back then).
Even though the couple separated in 1986, Jane still worked with the Jim Henson Co. She also founded the Jim Henson Legacy two years after Jim's death, as well as the National Puppetry Conference and the Jane Henson Foundation for philanthropic work. A memorial mass is planned for next week.
Tagged
death
jane henson
muppets
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Will Barnes and Noble in the East Village spell doom for smaller shops? It's complicated.
Independent booksellers are grappling with whether the big-box chain is a threat or an ally in the fight against Amazon.
By
Sonia Rao
Published Oct 16, 2026
Can eligible NYC singles find love with 30 minutes and some really spicy food?
We went to the Spiciest Supper Club singles night to take the temperature of New York City's dating scene.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
Arts & Entertainment
Can eligible NYC singles find love with 30 minutes and some really spicy food?
We went to the Spiciest Supper Club singles night to take the temperature of New York City's dating scene.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
How the NYC Marathon has changed in the last 50 years
By
Hannah Frishberg
A visit to Art of Play, the Brooklyn store in an animatronic bird beef with Kelly Clarkson
By
Sonia Rao
The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?
By
Lindsay Lee Wallace
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .