The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson


The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson is a one-hour special that aired on CBS on November 21, 1990. The program was a tribute to Muppet creator Jim Henson, who had died earlier in 1990 due to toxic shock syndrome caused by a streptococcus infection, and featured characters from The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, and Sesame Street.
It marked Steve Whitmire's first onscreen performance as Kermit the Frog.

Plot

is away traveling, leaving Fozzie Bear and the other Muppets in charge of the week's production number. On the day of the show, the Muppets receive a letter from Kermit informing them the production number is meant to pay tribute to Jim Henson. However, the group is unfamiliar with who Henson is. The rest of the special depicts the Muppets figuring out Jim Henson's relation to them, while simultaneously creating the production number.
Through the course of the special, interviews of several special guests are shown, where each guest recounts their personal experiences with Henson and his contributions to film, television, puppetry and philanthropy.
As the Muppets are nearing the presentation of their tribute number, Fozzie discovers some of Jim Henson's fan mail. One letter addressed to Kermit initially starts out cheerfully, but then turns to sorrow when the letter reveals that Henson has since died. Shocked, the Muppets take turns reading different letters from fans. Finally, Fozzie decides to cancel the production number, deeming it improper for the occasion. Kermit's nephew Robin tries to convince Fozzie otherwise by breaking into "Just One Person". Eventually the song becomes a large musical number with characters from Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock joining in. As the Muppets finish singing, Kermit arrives and congratulates the group on finding the proper way of honoring Jim Henson. Kermit decides to enact Fozzie's original production number and addresses the audience, ensuring that the Muppets will continue to perform because "that's the way the boss would want it."

Cast

Additional Muppets performed by Camille Bonora, Fran Brill, Jim Martin, Joey Mazzarino, Peter MacKennan, Carmen Osbahr, Martin P. Robinson, David Rudman, Cheryl Henson, and Bill Prady

Production