Over the years, television has produced a few individuals blessed with the ability to touch our hearts, out minds, and our lives with their vision. It's not so much that these special people march to a different drummer, but that they carry their own orchestras around with them in their heads. And when we allow them to play their tunes, the sound reverberates for generations. They make us think and they make us laugh.
Such a special individaul was my friend Jim Henson.
My first connection with Jim came from the fact that he was a great admirer of my father, Edgar Bergen. They were both soft-spoken, sensitive, creative people. And the man who gaves us Charlie McCarthy was always the first to acknowledge the genius of the man behind Kermit the Frog and all the other Muppets. Jim dedicated The Muppet Movie to my father, and I was one of the first guests to perform in the now ledgendary Muppet Show.
Who can talk about Jim without bringing up another connection-the one that extended in all his bright green innocence from Jim's right arm-the sane and sensible savant of the swampers, Kermit the Frog.
The story of Jim Henson brims at a local television station in Washington, D.C., where he worked with his wife, Jane. Jim's first connection with the public was made with a five-minute nightly show called Sam and Friends. From there, the idea that was to become the Muppets grew to include a group of individauls who were only too happy to commit themselves to the childlike sophistication of Jim Henson. Together they expanded the boundaries of their art, giving life to a host of characters that have become as familiar and as lovable as members of our own families.
With the passage of time, Jim continued to refine his vision, introducing new characters to the already overflowing menagerie of furrier-than-life creatures. And no matter how large the Muppets organization became, how intense the schedule, Jim was always there in the middle of things: guiding, encouraging, inspiring, and perfecting the vision.
A real breakthrough came for Jim in 1969 when the Children's Television Workshop started an experiment in education for preschoolers called Sesame Street. In 1976 the world welcomed The Muppet Show, a program that went on to have a global impact. This was followed by Fraggle Rock, the multi-Emmy-winning Muppet Babies, and the highly imaginative Jim Henson Hour.
In The Muppet Movie, Kermit expressed for Jim the optimism and the hope that formed the underlying theme of all his work. Here's how he put it:
"I've got a dream, too, but it's about singing and dancing and making people happy. That's the kind of dream that gets better the more people you share it with. And, well, I've found a whole bunch of friends who have the same dream. And it kind of makes us like a family."
Jim made us all like a family because we were drawn into his dream. We'll continue to be fans and faithful followers and family because we know he leads us to the best of places. Writer Robert Louis Stevenson wrote, "That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much, who has gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of children, who has filled his niche and accomplished his task, who leaves the world better than he found it, who looked for the best in others and gave the best he had."
That sounds like a perfect description of my friend Jim Henson.
-CANDICE BERGEN
