James Otis, Jim Henson's son?

[smcguire]

Sorry if this isn't the right forum for this question, but it looked like the most appropriate place.

In my guise of "maintainer of website about the Peanuts comic strip," today I received a press release that talked about a show of Charles Schulz and Dr. Seuss drawings that come from the collection of one "James Otis." The press release continues, "Otis is the the son of Jim Henson, and supposedly holds the largest collection of Dr. Seuss artwork in existence."

No further explanation is given, but I assumed that I was supposed to infer they meant Jim Henson of Muppet fame. But I've never heard of Jim Henson having a son named James, let alone one named "James Otis" (why would his last name be different?), nor could I find any reference to such. In fact, I found a bio of James Otis the Dr. Seuss collector which does not mention this fact.

So anyway, I find this press release somewhat suspect as a result, but I wanted to make sure that I wasn't missing something before I completely dismissed it.

You can read the press release at:

http://www.noblepr.co.uk/Press_Releases/animation_art/peanuts.htm

Thanks,

--Scott McGuire

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Hey, guy. I'm a HUGE Sparky fan. Been in contact with his wife, Jean, and his Creative Associates for a few years (off and on). Would love to see a link to your site!!

Finally, there is no son of Jim Henson the Muppet maker that has that name, unless it is some love-child. Jim has been rumored as a ladies' man We have a customer named James Henson, so it very well could be someone else.

"Speak Softly and Carry a Beagle" and the art of Dr.Seuss have both been on display here in Memphis.

I'm currently trying to talk the museum into getting a Henson exhibition here.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

I've emailed the contact person about this:
****************
Hi,

I'm a gigantic fan of Charles Schulz and Jim Henson, and the press release at:

http://www.noblepr.co.uk/Press_Releases/animation_art/peanuts.htm

Lists a "James Otis" as son of Jim Henson. If this is the Jim Henson of Muppets fame, this is an incorrect statement. If it is indeed supposedly true, please contact me with other informative links so that we can update our records at MuppetCentral.com about the history of Jim Henson ,Muppet maker.

Thanks,
Kev
Fozzie Bear
at Muppetcentral.com
****************
And for those interested in the article (visit it, original art by Schulz is on the site):
****************
Animation Art Gallery
Unveils Private Collector's Rare
Peanuts and Dr. Seuss Artwork
24/02/2003

For the first time ever, the Animation Art Gallery debuts an unprecedented collection of charming and original Charles Schultz Peanuts drawings and Dr. Seuss artwork. The show opens on 8th March 03 and was put together by the Gallery after being contacted by the private collector, James Otis, whom obtained them through persistent searches and having met the artists many times. As a child of five or six, he sat in on readings given by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel in his library. Otis is the son of Jim Henson, and supposedly holds the largest collection of Dr. Seuss artwork in existence. The prices reflect the rarity of such a collection, starting at £590. The top artwork shows the three key Peanuts characters - Lucy, Charlie Brown and Linus - and is £6000 signed by Schulz. Russell Singler, the Animation Art Gallery director says, "This is arguably one of the most exciting finds of the Gallery's history. For me the ability to own a piece of my childhood and animation so representative of my generation is very thrilling indeed."
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"Peanuts" is arguably the most popular cartoon in history. Schulz himself sketched and wrote every running of Peanuts for 50 years, and had a clause inserted into his contract, preventing anyone else from releasing new "Peanuts" cartoons after his death. The strip inspired some household phrases: "security blanket" after Linus' prop, and "happiness is a warm puppy," of course, after Snoopy.

Many of his characters were based on real people in Schultz' life. His childhood dog Spike was behind Snoopy. The little red-haired girl was based on a girlfriend who rejected his proposal for marriage. An art-school friend of his inspired the character Charlie Brown. He was born in St. Paul, Minn, and after seeing a "Do you like to draw" ad, decided to take correspondence courses in art. After serving in the Army in World War II, he worked on a church comic book. In 1950 he created "Li'l Folks," renamed "Peanuts" under syndication. The strip enjoyed enormous popularity in 1965 after Snoopy played the Red Baron, using his doghouse as an imaginary Sopwith Camel. Schultz died on February 12, 2000 on the eve of his last cartoon strip. Sadly Charles Schulz died in 2001.
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Better known by his pen name, Dr. Seuss, he populated his odd and fanciful children's books with a hybrid bestiary of Wockets, Whos, Grinches, bunches of Hunches, Bar-ba-loots, red fish, blue fish, and a fox in socks. He once remarked in an interview, "If I were invited to a dinner party with my characters, I wouldn't show up."

His stories march forward at an incantatory, rhythmic pace, and are full of tongue twisters, word play, and highly inventive vocabulary. Originally considered too outlandish to appeal to children. his first, And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street (1937), was reputedly rejected by twenty-eight publishers before it finally found a home at Random House. Among his most famous books is The Cat and the Hat (1957), a story about two children who find themselves home alone with a roguish, hat-wearing feline who is a study in bad behaviour. With only 223 vocabulary words and much repetition, it was ideally suited for beginning readers and became a lively alternative to the wooden dullness of the "See Spot run" primers. Green Eggs and Ham (1960) managed with a vocabulary of just fifty words to tell the story of a Seuss creature's relentless crusade to introduce a hapless furry character to a revolting dish.

In addition to becoming one of the world's most loved children's writers, Ted Geisel worked as a political cartoonist, an advertising illustrator, and a documentary filmmaker. Geisel also wrote other books under the pseudonyms Theo LeSieg and Rosetta Stone.

Artwork is available from the
The Animation Art Gallery, 13-14 Great Castle Street, London W1W 8LS or online from www.animaart.com.

Interviews are available with the Animation Art Gallery directors.

Essential Link:
www.animaart.com

For further information please contact:
Suzanne Noble @ Noble PR
Central Ignition
162-a Mercers Road
London N19 4PX
Tel: +44 (0) 207 272 7772
Fax: +44 (0) 207 272 2227

 

[smcguire]

I've done a little more research and uncovered another article (linked to on the Animation Art Gallery web page, which the press release is about), that claims that James Otis is Jim Henson's son-in-law, not son.

This makes more sense, but considering this is the only place I was able to dig up this info, and the fact that the article also makes a claim about Peanuts that would be news to me, I admit to a little continuing suspicion. I'm going to contact my Peanuts colleagues about the Peanuts claim.

You can read this article by going to:

http://www.animaart.com/Cellar/schulz-seuss/index.html

It's at the bottom. The statement about Jim Henson is on page 2 of the article (it's composed of graphics of scanned-in pages, so I can't post it here).

Thanks for sending a note to the press release folks. That was on my list to do, but I'll cross it off. I suspect the fault lies with them - sloppy writing at best.

My Peanuts web page can be found at:

http://web.mit.edu/smcguire/www/peanuts.html

You'll find a link to the main page, about the Peanuts TV shows, there, as well as links to a somewhat out of date bibliography of Peanuts books and some photos I've taken at Peanuts events such as the grand opening of the Schulz Musuem.

If you want to talk more about Peanuts stuff, Fozzie, feel free to contact me privately - don't want to drag this forum too off topic!

--Scott McGuire

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Or to yakkity yak about Schulz et al, there's this thread here:

Schulz/Peanuts Thread

MuleyTMule or FozzieMup is my aol screennames, feel free to IM anytime (though, normally, I'm in a hurry but will talk when I have time).

 

[smcguire]

Just an update - one of my Peanuts colleagues wrote to Ms. Noble regarding the inaccurate claims made regarding some of the Peanuts pieces in the article on the Animation Art Gallery's website, as well as the spurious claim about James Otis being Jim Henson's son.

He received a reply this morning agreeing that there were problems, that James Otis wasn't Jim Henson's son, and blaming it on material provided by the client. They say they'll take down the offending article, but I see this hasn't happened yet.

I'm still curious if James Otis is a son-in-law of Jim Henson or not, or if it's all completely spurious.

--Scott McGuire

 

[Super Scooter]

The name sounds so familiar!!!

Where's Secret Squirrel when you need him?

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Ms Noble never responded to me, so I guess she got 2 or 3 and only responded to one of them.

 

[sarah_yzma]

hmm and you were just unlucky....

Sarah

 

[BoyRaisin2]

Originally posted by Fozzie Bear
Schultz died on February 12, 2000 on the eve of his last cartoon strip. Sadly Charles Schulz died in 2001.

What???