Your Thoughts: "Jim Henson: The Biography" by Brian Jay Jones

[CensoredAlso]

Those two movies have ended up meaning so much to a lot of people. I am so grateful to have grown up with Labyrinth. Sometimes it takes awhile for your work to be recognized but you can't give up.

 

[D'Snowth]

I'm only into chapter three now (yeah, I'm slow), so I haven't really gotten too deep into Jim's career just yet, but something just crossed my mind... fast-foward to 1990, Michael Eisner was so eager to get his hands on the Muppets, it got me to thinking... Eisner was also a big supporter of the Kroffts, and green-lit a lot of their projects in the 70s... so, maybe Eisner could have green-lit TMS and put it on ABC? Hmm?

 

[Oscarfan]

I'm only into chapter three now (yeah, I'm slow), so I haven't really gotten too deep into Jim's career just yet, but something just crossed my mind... fast-foward to 1990, Michael Eisner was so eager to get his hands on the Muppets, it got me to thinking... Eisner was also a big supporter of the Kroffts, and green-lit a lot of their projects in the 70s... so, maybe Eisner could have green-lit TMS and put it on ABC? Hmm?

Not to spoil anything, but you're assumptions are near correct.

 

[RedPiggy]

I just finished it. Had to try to avoid crying at the end since I still have to go to work and all.

I had more in common with him than I realized. I first discovered this when I got the FR box set, since the replica of his notebook made me realize that our handwriting is similar. It was creepy, LOL.

I'm also a big peanut butter sandwich fanatic, LOL.

But though I realize that I try to model my life after Jim (to a certain extent, since there are flaws I'd like to avoid), if you read about Jim's worldview, it's pretty much my own, just better stated.

 

[D'Snowth]

I will say that I find it amusing that Brian Jay Jones frequently compares amounts of money back in those days to what their equivilent amounts today would be.

 

[D'Snowth]

So I'm into chapter five now (shut up), and there's something that strikes me odd.

Bernie Brillstein later recalled - though he was never certain if the offer came from Purina or another client - that Jim was offered $100,000 from the company to own Rowlf outright. Brillstein nearly leapt at the offer, but Jim immediately squashed the deal. "Bernie," warned Jim, "never sell anything I own." "He knew then," said Brillstein. "He has this whole business side. He had these sides to him that were so complex, and when I least thought he'd understand something, he understood it better than I did. So he taught me a long time ago, don't sell what you create."

Okay, so when did Jim end up losing said whole business side? That's one of the same things that Sid & Marty Krofft learned early in their career: never sell what you create... yet, from beginning to today, the Kroffts have always owned everything they created... with Henson on the other hand, Lord Grade owned TMS, TMM, GMC, among other things, TriStar owned (and still does?) MTM. Caroll even said Jim was thrilled when he was able to buy back TMS and everything else when Lord Grade went bankrupt... so... I mean... I'm confused...

 

[minor muppetz]

One thing that's great is that this book briefly confirms why Caroll Spinney stopped performing Anything Muppets after the first two seasons (the book says he stopped after the first season.... Technically, that's not incorrect, since after the second season is still after the first).

 

[D'Snowth]

Okay, now I'm really interested in reading about that, because that's always been a question lingering in my mind... my two assumptions were either Jim felt Caroll being Big Bird and Oscar (essentially the original two Muppet leads of SST) may have jeopardized his credibility of performing other characters, or perhaps being Big Bird and Oscar were demanding enough parts that didn't leave Caroll time to perform other characters.

Either way, we have to remember too, that first year, it was just Jim, Frank, and Caroll: Jim and Frank couldn't have done everything for SST themselves.

 

[CensoredAlso]

So I'm into chapter five now (shut up), and there's something that strikes me odd.



Okay, so when did Jim end up losing said whole business side? That's one of the same things that Sid & Marty Krofft learned early in their career: never sell what you create... yet, from beginning to today, the Kroffts have always owned everything they created... with Henson on the other hand, Lord Grade owned TMS, TMM, GMC, among other things, TriStar owned (and still does?) MTM. Caroll even said Jim was thrilled when he was able to buy back TMS and everything else when Lord Grade went bankrupt... so... I mean... I'm confused...

Well sometimes these things are out of your hands. If you want a bigger company to publish your work a lot of times the catch is that the bigger company ends up with ownership.

 

[D'Snowth]

Well sometimes these things are out of your hands. If you want a bigger company to publish your work a lot of times the catch is that the bigger company ends up with ownership.

Then you look elsewhere instead of settling.