James Maury Henson was born on the 24th September 1936, in Greenville, Mississippi, USA, and passed away on the 16th May 1990 in New York City, USA. He was a puppeteer, film director, producer, as well as a screenwriter, best known for producing “The Muppet Show”, as well as creating the Muppets marionettes and puppets, such as Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, etc. He was also recognized for working on the children’s TV show “Sesame Street”. His career was active from 1955 to 1990.
So, have you ever wondered how rich Jim Henson was? According to authoritative sources, it was estimated that the total size of Jim’s net worth was over $20 million, which was accumulated through his impressive career in the entertainment industry as a puppeteer, director, producer, and screenwriter. He was also the founder of The Jim Henson Company and Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, which contributed to his overall fortune.
Jim Henson Net Worth $20 Million
Jim Henson spent his childhood in Maryland, the younger of two children born to Paul Ransom Henson, who worked as an agronomist in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Betty Marcella. He attending Northwestern High School, and during his studies he started working for WTOP-TV (now WUSA-TV), where he created puppets for the children’s program “The Junior Morning Show”. Upon matriculation, he became a student at the University of Maryland, College Park, where he majored in Studio Arts, and attended textiles courses in the College of Home Economics, from which he earned a BSc degree in Home Economics.
While studying, he created “Sam And Friends”, which soon became extremely popular, encouraging him to continue with puppetry. During the 1960s, he created several popular shows, including “The Jimmy Dean Show” (1963) and “Time Piece” (1965), among others; however, the most popular creation came in 1969, the world-famous “Sesame Street”, and was a part of the show until his death in 1990.
Jim continued successfully into the 1970s, creating “The Muppet Show” in 1975, which also garnered an enormous amount of fame, increasing the overall size of his net worth by a large degree. He has also created several TV specials on account of “The Muppet Show”, such as “The Muppet Movie”, “The Great Muppet Caper”, “The Muppets Take Manhattan”, “A Muppet Family Christmas”, among others, which also added to his net worth.
Apart from the Muppets, Jim also created several other popular films and TV series, including “The Dark Crystal”, “Fraggle Rock”, “Dinosaurs”, and “The Storyteller”, among many others, which successes increased his net worth by a large margin.
Thanks to his successful career, Jim received numerous prestigious awards, including the Oscar nomination for his work on “Time Piece”, and three Primetime Emmy Awards, for several of his creations such as “The Muppet Show”, “The Storyteller”, and “Sesame Street”.
Furthermore, he received BAFTA TV Award also for “The Muppet Show”, and three Grammy Awards for “Sesame Street”, “The Muppet Movie”, and “The Muppet Show”. Jim also received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, although posthumously in 1991, as well as the Disney Legends Award.
Speaking about his personal life, Jim Jenson was married to Jane Nebel (1959-1990), with whom he had five children. He was also known for being a philanthropist, as he established The Jim Henson Foundation. Unfortunately, hedied of toxic shock syndrome caused by Streptococcus pyogenes, at the early age of 53.
