The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson Bill Prady The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson is a one-hour special that aired on CBS on November 21, 1990. The program was a tribute to Muppet creator Jim Henson, who had died earlier in 1990 due to toxic shock syndrome caused by a streptococcus infection, and featured characters from "The Muppet Show", "Fraggle Rock", and "Sesame Street". It marked Steve Whitmire's first onscreen performance as Kermit the Frog. This was also one of Richard Hunt's final puppetry works before his death in 1992. Kermit the Frog is away traveling, leaving Fozzie Bear and the other
The Muppets also generally made of softer materials. They are presented as being independent of the puppeteer, who is usually not visible—hidden behind a set or outside of the camera frame. Using the camera frame as the "stage" was an innovation of the Muppets. Previously on television, there would usually be a stage hiding the performers, as if in a live presentation. Sometimes, they are seen full-bodied; this is achieved by using invisible strings to manipulate the characters, with vocals added at a later point. Since 2006, Disney has contracted Puppet Heap to produce and maintain newer models of the Muppets. The