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 gallery within the "Worlds of Puppetry" exhibition at the Center in November 2015. Muppet-like and Muppet-inspired puppets star in the 2004 Tony Award-winning Broadway musical "Avenue Q". Peter Jackson's film, "Meet the Feebles" is another parody of the Muppets. A vomit-spewing Kermit the Frog was a recurring character on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien", and the Muppets were frequently preempted at the beginning of episodes for the Canadian series "You Can't Do That on Television." Seth Green's short-lived show "Greg the Bunny" was about sentient hand-puppets working in a Muppet-like children's show. Many other films and television shows such as