An otherwise healthy 53-year-old man dies from Septic Shock

[dandaman2001]

May 16, 1990 -- Well-known puppeteer James Maury "Jim" Henson, the creator of the Muppets, "Fraggle Rock," and many others, has died.

Jim was pronounced dead at approximately 1:20 a.m. ET/PT.

His cause of death is extremely rare, though not uncommon: in the early morning hours of May 15, 1990, less than 2 weeks after an appearance on "The Arsenio Hall Show" promoting last week's NBC special "The Muppets at Walt Disney World," was voluntarily admitted to a local New York hospital for routine throat surgery. While in recuperation from the surgery, Jim's condition gradually grew worse and he soon went into Septic Shock--and ultimately died.

Eventually, instead of suing the hospital where he died, Jim's widow, Jane Nebel, and their 5 children--Lisa, Cheryl, Brian, John, and Heather--reached an out-of-court settlement with the hospital.

The life story of James Maury Henson began on September 24, 1936 on a farm in the small town of Greenville, Mississippi, where he was raised the youngest of 2 sons born to Paul and Betty Henson.

In 1953, 17-year-old Jimmy, as his family called him, conceived a puppet act he eventually called the Muppets.

As an 18-year-old college freshman, Jim met the love of his life--Jane Ann Nebel, who he would marry in 1959 and become the proud parent of 5 kids.

In 1969, after years of network and national appearances on variety shows such as "The Ed Sullivan Show," Jim was approached by "Sesame Street" creator Joan Ganz Cooney to create exclusive new puppet characters for the series, which debuted later that year and is still on the air today.

In 1975, Jim conceived a variety show pilot called "The Muppet Show," and although the ABC Television Network passed on the idea, British producer Lew Grade would buy the concept and air it on the BBC, with the CBS Television Network airing the series in the United States for 5 years.

In 1981, soon after retiring "The Muppet Show," Jim conceived an idea for a children's television series for the HBO Television Network called "Fraggle Rock," which would enjoy a successful 4-year run on the network.

In 1989, on what would be his final network TV project, Jim conceived an idea for a network TV variety show called "The Jim Henson Hour," with the first half-hour focusing on a variety show similar to "The Muppet Show" and the 2nd half-hour focusing on "The Storyteller," starring British actor John Hurt.

As Leonard Maltin once put it, "The world may be a sadder place without Jim Henson, but his magic will live on." How true that's been more than 20 years later.

Here's to James Maury Henson, a man truly missed on Planet Earth, hoping that he's entertaining Jesus Christ in Heaven.

[MrCleveland]

I was watching the 30th Anniversary Tribute to Jim Henson a week ago....