did Jim Henson ever perform a left hand?

[minor muppetz]

Does anybody know if Jim Henson ever performed the left hand of any character? Considering that he started the Muppets and was the boss it would seem weird for him to perform somebody's left hand, but I don't think it is unlikely.

 

[Mistersuperstar]

Jim would have very probably performed the left hand of many characters. Althought he was the founder and overall manager and producer of much of the Muppets stuff, I think he would always get stuck in with the rest of the performers when it was needed.

 

[Skekayuk]

There is a photograph in the book about the making of Dark Crystal which shows Jim Henson, Dave Goelz, and Louise Gold all pitching in as part of a the Cable Crew for Steve Whitmire's Skeksis!

While in the book JH The Works, Kevin Clash tells a story about how one time he was being Puppet co-ordinator on something (possibly the finale for Bunny Picnic) and because there were a lot of puppets in the scene it was one of those scenes where everyone had to help out. Jim Henson didn't have a specific character to do in the scene, so he was helping out with background puppets - and Kevin Clash (without realising it was The Boss) had him told off for over-acting!

 

[Mistersuperstar]

I've heard that story but I think it was refering to a "bunny" sketch on The Muppet Show. Apparently there was one particular rabbit at the back of a big crowd of characters that was being a little "larger" than the rest and Kevin was about to tell the guy to calm it down until he realised who was performing it.

 

[minor muppetz]

I've heard that story but I think it was refering to a "bunny" sketch on The Muppet Show. Apparently there was one particular rabbit at the back of a big crowd of characters that was being a little "larger" than the rest and Kevin was about to tell the guy to calm it down until he realised who was performing it.

No, Kevin Clash was talking about the 30th anniversary special. Clash never performed on The Muppet Show, and although he had met Jim Henson as early as 1979, and although he had occassionally hung out on the Sesame Street set before officially becomming a muppet performer, I doubt that Clash would have gone all the way to england to hang out on The Muppet Show set.

 

[minor muppetz]

Also, I wouldn't count that rabbit as a "left hand". I am asking about whether Henson performed the left hand of a character, not if he performed a background character that he didn't perform, though I do wonder if Henson ever had to perform any major characters that he didn't normally perform (like Bert, Fozzie, Scooter, and so on) because the regular performer either wasn't on set at the time or was busy performing another character in the scene.

 

[minor muppetz]

Speaking of that 30th anniversary crowd scene, I had wondered if the performers switched characters throughout the closing song, which had a lot of different close-ups, or if the same performers performed the same characters throughout the scene. If Jim Henson didn't have any of his characters for a certain close-up and had to perform someone he didn't normally perform, then this would answer what I thought. After all, many of Jim Henson's regular characters did appear in that scene (including Guy Smiley, The Swedish Chef, Waldorf, and I think The Newsman).

 

[Mistersuperstar]

All the Muppet performers would have played characters they weren't known for because there is no other way to tape a scene where there is more than one character that is usually performed by the same puppeteer. In The Muppet Show where Kermit has "twisted a flipper" he is noticeably being performed by someone else during the Veternarian's Hospital sketch and they are miming to Jim's voice.

Which bit on the 30th Annicersary special had bunnies in it? I've got the video but it has been so long since I have seen it.

 

[Mistersuperstar]

Just found the article where Kevin Clash explained it. It's in Jim Henson: The Works.

 

[Muppet Newsgirl]

Oh, yes, I remember that - it was the one in which one of the rabbits was shamelessly upstaging everyone else - and Jim was the one playing it.