Brian Henson (born November 3, 1963)
is an American
puppeteer, director, producer,
voice actor
Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...
and the chairman of
The Jim Henson Company
The Jim Henson Company (formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc.; commonly referred to as Henson) is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for ...
. He is the son of puppeteers
Jim
Jim or JIM may refer to:
* Jim (given name), a given name
* Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James
* Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy
* OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism
* ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring
* ''Jim ...
and
Jane Henson
Jane Ann Henson (née Nebel; June 16, 1934 – April 2, 2013) was an American puppeteer and the wife of Jim Henson.
Early life
Jane Ann Nebel was born and raised in St. Albans, Queens, she met Henson when she was a senior and he a freshman at th ...
.
Early life
Henson was born on November 3, 1963,
in New York City, is the third child of
Jane Henson
Jane Ann Henson (née Nebel; June 16, 1934 – April 2, 2013) was an American puppeteer and the wife of Jim Henson.
Early life
Jane Ann Nebel was born and raised in St. Albans, Queens, she met Henson when she was a senior and he a freshman at th ...
(née Nebel; 1934–2013) and
Jim Henson
James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...
(1936–1990). He has four siblings:
Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to:
People
People with the mononym
* Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam
* Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer
* Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...
(born 1960),
Cheryl
Cheryl is a female given name common in English speaking countries.
There are several prevailing theories about its etymology. The most common is that it has Italo-Celtic roots and is an Anglicised version of either the French name Cherie (from ...
(born 1961),
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
(1965–2014), and
Heather Henson
Heather Beth Henson (born December 19, 1970) is an American contemporary puppet artist, the daughter of Jim Henson. She serves on The Jim Henson Company, The Jim Henson Legacy, and the Jim Henson Foundation Boards of Directors. She is also a Tr ...
(born 1970).
As a child, he made several cameo appearances in some of the filmed segments his father produced for the
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
children's series ''
Sesame Street
''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...
'', most notably in various segments of the "Number Song Series."
As a teenager, he built the first Muppet penguin puppet for the opening "
Lullaby of Broadway" segment of a season three episode of ''
The Muppet Show
''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as a s ...
''.
During his summer break from high school in 1980 at the age of 17, he assisted in the bicycle sequence in ''
The Great Muppet Caper
''The Great Muppet Caper'' is a 1981 British-American musical heist comedy film directed by Jim Henson (in his feature directorial debut). It is the second theatrical film in ''The Muppets'' franchise. In addition to the Muppet performers, the ...
'' (1981); he helped create and operate a special rigging device that allowed the Muppets to ride bicycles since he was skilled in the use of
marionette
A marionette (; french: marionnette, ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed ...
puppets.
A few years later, after doing the marionette work in ''
The Muppets Take Manhattan
''The Muppets Take Manhattan'' is a 1984 American musical comedy drama film directed by Frank Oz. It is the third theatrical film in ''The Muppets'' franchise. In addition to the Muppet performance, the film features special appearances by Ar ...
'' (1984) in the scene where rats cook food in a diner, he became the puppeteer who worked out complicated effects.
Career
Film
During the 1980s, Henson performed Jack Pumpkinhead in ''
Return to Oz
''Return to Oz'' is a 1985 dark fantasy film released by Walt Disney Pictures, co-written and directed by Walter Murch. It stars Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh, Piper Laurie, and Fairuza Balk as Dorothy Gale in her first screen role. The film is ...
'' (1985), operated special effects for ''
Santa Claus: The Movie'' (1985), and was a principal performer for the Audrey II puppet in ''
Little Shop of Horrors'' (1986), controlling mouth movement while others performed the lips and vines. In addition, he also performed the voice of Hoggle, one of the main characters in his father's film ''
Labyrinth
In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by t ...
'' (1986), and the Dog in both versions of ''
The Storyteller'' (1988 and 1990).
In 1992, Henson directed ''
The Muppet Christmas Carol
''The Muppet Christmas Carol'' is a 1992 American Christmas musical comedy drama film directed by Brian Henson (in his feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Jerry Juhl. Adapted from the 1843 novella '' A Christmas Carol'' by Charles D ...
'' and directed the next film in the franchise, ''
Muppet Treasure Island
''Muppet Treasure Island'' is a 1996 American musical swashbuckler comedy film directed by Brian Henson. It is the fifth theatrical film in ''The Muppets'' franchise.
Adapted from the 1883 novel ''Treasure Island'' by Robert Louis Stevenson, ...
'', in 1996. He performed the role of Dr. Phil van Neuter, the Muppet
mad scientist
The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as " mad, bad and dangerous to know" or " insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabashedly a ...
in ''
Muppets from Space
''Muppets from Space'' is a 1999 American science-fiction film, science-fiction comedy film directed by Tim Hill (director), Tim Hill (in his List of directorial debuts, feature film directorial debut) and written by Jerry Juhl, Joey Mazzarino, Jo ...
'' (1999). In 2018, he directed and produced ''
The Happytime Murders
''The Happytime Murders'' is a 2018 American adult puppet crime comedy film directed by Brian Henson and written by Todd Berger from a story by Berger and Dee Austin Robertson. The film stars Melissa McCarthy, Bill Barretta, Joel McHale, Maya R ...
'', a puppet crime-comedy film for adult audiences.
Television
Henson was the executive producer for several television series: ''
Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
'' (1991–94), ''
Aliens in the Family
''Aliens in the Family'' is an American science fantasy sitcom that aired on ABC from March 15 to August 31, 1996, conceived as part of its '' TGIF'' lineup.
Premise
The show was about single dad Doug Brody (John Bedford Lloyd), who is abducted ...
'' (1996), ''
Bear in the Big Blue House
''Bear in the Big Blue House'' is an American children's television series created by Mitchell Kriegman and produced by Jim Henson Television for Disney Channel's Playhouse Disney preschool television block. Debuting on October 20, 1997, it aire ...
'' (1997–2006), and ''
Farscape
''Farscape'' is an Australian-American science fiction television series, produced originally for the Nine Network. It premiered in the US on Sci-Fi Channel's SciFi Friday, 19 March 1999, at 8:00 pm EST as their anchor series. The series was c ...
'' (1999–2003). In addition to an executive producer's role, Henson played himself as the head judge on the 2014 reality TV show ''
Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge
''Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge'' is an American reality television game show on the Syfy cable network. It premiered on March 25, 2014 and ended on May 13, 2014.
Plot
A group of Creature Designers compete against each other to create pu ...
''. He performed the roles of Janice and Scooter in the 2002 TV movie ''
It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
''It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie'' is a 2002 American musical fantasy comedy television film directed by Kirk R. Thatcher and written by Tom Martin and Jim Lewis. The film premiered November 29, 2002 on NBC and the first film to be ...
''.
Henson returned to perform Sal Minella, a character he created for ''
Muppets Tonight
''Muppets Tonight'' is an American live-action/ puppet family-oriented television series created by Jim Henson Productions and featuring The Muppets. Much like the "MuppeTelevision" segment of ''The Jim Henson Hour'' (1989), the show was a conti ...
'', in ''
Muppets Haunted Mansion
''Muppets Haunted Mansion'' is a 2021 American puppet supernatural comedy Halloween special based on the Disney properties The Muppets and The Haunted Mansion. It was released on October 8, 2021, via Disney+. It is the Muppets' first Halloween s ...
'' (2021).
Other ventures
Henson is the co-creator, producer, and currently a performer in the adult-themed puppet-based variety show
Puppet Up!
''Puppet Up! – Uncensored'' is a Adult live puppet musical show produced by The Jim Henson Company combining puppetry and improvisational comedy created by Brian Henson and Groundlings performer Patrick Bristow. The show is advertised for "ad ...
, and played various characters from that variety show on the British program ''
That Puppet Game Show
''That Puppet Game Show'' is a British television series broadcast on BBC One between 10 August 2013 and 5 January 2014. The show was made by the BBC in conjunction with The Jim Henson Company and featured the Miskreant Puppets from ''Puppet Up ...
''.
For ''The Muppet Show Live'' in 2001 he performed his own Muppet characters and one of his father's characters,
The Muppet Newsman, for the first time. He reprised the role for the 2003 video game "Muppets Party Cruise".
Personal life
Henson married Ellis Flyte, costume designer for the 1986 fantasy adventure film ''
Labyrinth
In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by t ...
'', in November 1990. They divorced in 2002. Since 2010, Henson has been married to actress
Mia Sara
Mia Sarapochiello (born June 19, 1967), known professionally as Mia Sara, is a retired American actress. She made her film debut as Princess Lili in the fantasy film ''Legend'' (1985), and had her breakthrough starring as Sloane Peterson in the ...
. They have one child, a daughter born in 2005.
Filmography
Film
Television
Video games
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
YouTube Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henson, Brian
1963 births
American film producers
American film directors
American television directors
Artists from New York City
Farscape
Henson family (show business)
Jim Henson
Living people
Muppet performers
Primetime Emmy Award winners
Television producers from New York City
The Jim Henson Company people