For better or worse, the psychedelia-inspired concept never became a reality.
But its an example of the restless imagination that propelled Henson throughout his life.
His parents invested in the purchase of one of the first TV sets available in 1950 at Jims insistence.
‘Jim Henson Idea Man’Disney+
The portly Welles intones, in that extraordinary baritone, The Muppets theyre superstars.
Just because theyre so popular, we may neglect to notice that Muppetry is also an art.
To my mind, this is the most visually inventive documentary Howard has made.
Jim Henson with Kermit the Frog, ca. early 1970sEverett Collection
Howard has taken on other celebrity subjects in his docs Luciano Pavarotti and The Beatles, for instance.
When I spoke with Howard before he left for Cannes, he told me he had met Henson briefly.
I knew people who knew him very well, who held him in such high esteem.
He was a very modest guy, he said.
But at an immediate first glance, I still didnt realize the scope of what he had accomplished…
I was curious about this sort of explosion of creativity and what was the engine behind him and it?
Did he have some sort of subconscious sense that he wouldnt live until old age?
Henson contracted a bacterial infection in May 1990 but didnt get treatment for several days.
By the time he did, it was too late.
ButJim Henson Idea Manstands as the definitive account of all he did achieve.
