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New Collectibles •11/01 - The Muppet Christmas Carol Pop! Figures: Bob Cratchit with Tiny Tim, Mrs. Cratchit, Charles Dickens with Rizzo, Fozziwig, The Marley Brothers, Scrooge
•10/24 - The Muppets Take Manhattan 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray with Frank Oz Commentary •10/1 - Supersize Count von Count •10/01 - Sesame Street Action Figures Wave 1: Ernie with Rubber Duckie, Bert with Bernice, Count von Count, Yip Yip Martians •9/1 - Fraggle Rock Action Figures Wave 1: Gobo, Red, Traveling Matt, Architect and Cotterpin, Flange |
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Original Muppets come home to Washington The Smithsonian recognizes Jim Henson’s Legacy with inclusion of the original Muppets from "Sam and Friends" and "The Muppet Show" Courtesy
of the National Museum of National History
“Jim Henson embodied the innovation and ingenuity that is inherent in American culture,” said Brent D. Glass, director of the museum. “Beyond the entertainment value Henson’s creations provided, his work helped educate and inform his audiences, an influence that continues today.”
In 1955, Henson’s “Sam and Friends” debuted on local D.C. station WRC-TV, which introduced the American audience to Muppets and launched what would become a global phenomenon. “Sam and Friends” featured a number of unique, zany characters from the titular Sam to the first Kermit, a lizard-like creature made from a green felt coat discarded by Henson’s mother. Ten of the characters from “Sam and Friends,” including Henson’s oldest surviving creation Pierre, will be on display at the museum, adjacent to the “American Popular Culture” displays on the third floor. Also on view will be a number of characters from “The Muppet Show” and other Muppet specials and movies that were originally voiced by Henson himself, including a Kermit the Frog from 1969, Rowlf the Dog, the Swedish Chef, Dr. Teeth and the Banjo Player from the Country Trio, which is actually a self-portrait of Henson.
Jim Henson came up with the word Muppet in the mid-1950s. Seemingly a combination of puppet and marionette, Henson insisted that he chose the term simply because he liked the way it sounded. Central to the design of a Muppet is the way its face is constructed, creating a pattern with the eyes, nose and mouth called “the magic triangle.” This establishes a point of focus essential in bringing a puppet to life in the eye of a TV or movie camera.
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To
commemorate the 50th anniversary of Jim Henson’s iconic Muppets
and Kermit the Frog, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of
American History and its Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention
and Innovation present “Muppets and Mechanisms: Jim Henson’s
Legacy,” opening May 19. Two special displays will feature
Henson’s earliest Muppet work—on view for the first
time at the museum—as well as his later work in animatronics.
Jim
Henson’s contribution to puppeteering and entertainment extends
beyond the characters themselves to technology as Henson and his
“Creature Shops” pioneered uses of animatronics, or
remote-controlled Muppets. This animatronic technology was a prominent
component of a number of Henson projects, including the 1982 film
“The Dark Crystal.” On view in cases outside the Lemelson
Center on the museum’s first floor will be characters from
“The Dark Crystal,” including the film’s villain
Skeksis, as well as examples of animatronic technology.
The
National Museum of American History collects, preserves and displays
American heritage through exhibitions and public programs about
social, political, cultural, scientific and military history. Documenting
the American experience from colonial times to the present, the
museum looks at growth and change in the United States. The museum,
located at 14th Street and Constitution Avenue N.W., is open daily
from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. during the summer beginning May 26 and
continuing through Sept. 4. The museum will close for major renovations
beginning Sept. 5. Admission is free. For more information, visit
the museum’s 
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