The Muppets industry and popular culture in the United States, receiving recognition from various cultural institutions and organizations, including the American Film Institute, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, Library of Congress, and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Muppets were created by puppeteer Jim Henson in the 1950s, beginning with Kermit the Frog, who would become Henson's most recognizable character. Originally conceived for an adult audience, Henson claimed, and later retracted, that he coined the term "Muppet" as a portmanteau of the words "marionette" and "puppet". In 1955, the Muppets were introduced in "Sam and Friends", a short-form television series
The Muppets Studio Interactive Media became part of Walt Disney Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products in a March 2018 company reorganization. The Muppets Studio The Muppets Studio, LLC, formerly The Muppets Holding Company, LLC, is a wholly owned entertainment subsidiary of Walt Disney Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products, formed in 2004 through The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of The Muppets and "Bear in the Big Blue House" intellectual properties from The Jim Henson Company. In the late-1980s, Jim Henson had been in talks with Disney CEO Michael Eisner to sell Jim Henson Productions to the Walt Disney Company. In August 1989, the two