Did Jim Henson stay in touch with guest stars?

[dwayne1115]

I know Carol Spinney has said that he made great friends with Walon Jennings durring the filming of FTB he even went on tour with him sometimes.

 

[Scooterforever]

I've heard different stories. According to Muppet Wiki, Christopher Reeve was friends with Jim Henson even before he hosted TMS, and even performed one of the polevaulters in the Bob Hope episode. In another story, JH, Carol Spinney and Spinney's wife approach Liza Minnelli in a restaurant (after her appearance on the show, I believe) and she doesn't even acknowledge them.

 

[Yorick]

Yeah, the Muppet Wiki says:
"In the late 1970s, possibly before or after Minnelli's Muppet Show taping, Jim Henson, Carroll Spinney, and Spinney's wife were at a restaurant. According to Spinney, in 2011, they happened on Minnelli's table and Jim stopped, planning to talk with her. She looked up briefly, before returning to her previous conversation. Henson and friends talked with Alice Cooper and John Entwhistle, further along in the restaurant, instead."

And I must say, no matter who it is, there's no excuse for not being kind to someone else; it's one thing if you were disrespected by the other person first, sure, but I think we can all assume that Jim, Carroll, and Carroll's wife did and said nothing wrong to Liza. So shame on her.

Nice to know that Alice Cooper and John Entwistle were cool, though! And I guess John was a fan and/or friend, because unlike Cooper, The Who never worked with the Muppets as far as I know!

 

[Barbarella]

I read somewhere that some of the first guests on the Muppet Show were friends of his and appeared as a favor before the Muppet Show became a hit. So it wouldn't surprise me if he was friends with more celebrities and kept in touch.

 

[lionheartkc]

I own the copy of Of Muppets and Men that Jim gave to Buddy Rich. When my friends bought it for me, they contacted the Henson Archives to find out more about it and learned that, the year the book was published, Jim gave a copy to every guest who was on the show, as a Christmas present.

 

[DannyRWW]

I own the copy of Of Muppets and Men that Jim gave to Buddy Rich. When my friends bought it for me, they contacted the Henson Archives to find out more about it and learned that, the year the book was published, Jim gave a copy to every guest who was on the show, as a Christmas present.

Impressive.... I'm just happy to have any copy of Muppets and men

 

[lionheartkc]

If any of you want to own a little part of history... this place is selling Harry Belafonte's copy for $850. Pricey, yes, but considering that randomly autographed copies are going for at least twice that, and the connection between Belafonte and the Muppets is pretty huge, it seems like a steal to me.

http://www.argosybooks.com/shop/argosy/225271.html

 

[Scooterforever]

I always figured Jim Henson and Dudley Moore were friends; beyond hosting a season 4 episode of TMS, Moore also appeared in "The Muppets go to the Movies" special and "Miss Piggy's Hollywood" from episode 105 0f The Jim Henson Hour.