Brian Henson Biography

Brian Henson (born November 3, 1963) is an American puppeteer, director, producer, and the chairman of the Jim Henson Company. The son of puppeteers Jim and Jane Henson, Brian was born in New York City.

Early life

Brian Henson was the third child of Jane and Jim Henson. As a child, he made several cameo appearances in some of the filmed segments his father produced for the PBS children's series Sesame Street, most notably in various segments of the "Number Song Series." As he got older, he built the very first Muppet penguin puppet for the opening "Lullaby of Broadway" segment of a season three episode of The Muppet Show, guest starring Gilda Radner. During his summer break from high school in 1980, he assisted in the bicycle sequence from The Great Muppet Caper (1981). He helped create and operate a special rigging device that was created to allow the Muppets to ride bicycles, since he was skilled in the use of marionette puppets. A few years later, he similarly operated a marionette of Scooter riding a bicycle in The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984).

Career

1980s

During the 1980s, Henson wanted to make a name for himself and find work without his father's help. As a result, he performed Jack Pumpkinhead in Return to Oz (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 role of Hoggle, one of the main characters in his father's film Labyrinth (1986) and the Dog in both versions of The Storyteller (1988 and 1990).

1990s

He briefly took over the Muppet roles of Scooter and Janice after the death of Richard Hunt in 1992.

He directed The Muppet Christmas Carol in 1992 and Muppet Treasure Island in 1996, the first Muppet films produced after Jim Henson's death.

He performed the role of Dr. Phil van Neuter, the Muppet mad scientist who tries to suck out Gonzo's brain, in Muppets from Space (1999).

He was the producer of the TV series Dinosaurs, Aliens in the Family, and Bear in the Big Blue House. His most visible recent project was the cult sci-fi series Farscape.

2000s

Henson is the co-creator, producer, and currently a performer in the Off-Broadway puppet-based variety show geared toward adults called Stuffed and Unstrung. He also plays various characters on That Puppet Game Show.

Henson for the live show, "The Muppet Show Live", from 2001, in addition to performing his own Muppet characters, also performed one of his father's characters, The Muppet Newsman, for the only time.

Personal life

Henson is married to actress Mia Sara since 2010.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981	The Great Muppet Caper	Muppet performer
1984	The Muppets Take Manhattan	Muppet performer	Uncredited
1985	Return to Oz	Jack Pumpkinhead
1985	Santa Claus: The Movie	Animatronic Puppeteer
1986	Little Shop of Horrors	Principal Puppeteer
1986	Labyrinth	Hoggle/Goblin
1986	The Christmas Toy	Cruiser	TV Movie
1987	Jim Henson Presents Mother Goose Stories	Co-Director
1988-1991	The Storyteller	Storyteller's Dog/Devil/Griffin	TV Series
1989	The Jim Henson Hour	Storyteller's Dog/Dog the Dinosaur	TV Series
1990	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	Second Unit Director/Chief Puppeteer
1990	The Witches	Puppeteer
1991-1994	Dinosaurs	Grandma Ethyl Phillips/Arthur Rizzic Executive Producer	TV Series
1992	The Muppet Christmas Carol	Director/Producer
1996	Aliens in the Family	Executive Producer	TV Series
1996-1998	Muppets Tonight	Sal Minella/Dr. Phil Van Neuter/Seymour/Nigel Writer	TV Series
1997	Muppet Treasure Island	Director/Producer
1997-2003	Bear in the Big Blue House	Executive Producer	TV Series
1999	Muppets From Space	Dr. Phil Van Neuter/Sal Minella/Talking Sandwich Producer
1999-2003	Farscape	Executive Producer	TV Series
2001	Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story	Director	TV Movie
2002	It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie	Scooter/Sal Manilla/Janice Executive Producer	TV Movie
2004	Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars	Director/Executive Producer	TV Series
2005	The Muppets' Wizard of Oz	Sal Manilla Executive Producer	TV Movie
2008	Pajanimals	Executive Producer	TV Series
2008-2009	Sid the Science Kid	Executive Producer	TV Series
2009-2011	Dinosaur Train	Executive Producer	TV Series
2010	Hot Dog TV'	Voice Director	TV Series
2013	Ventrilocompany Studios Update	Co-Executive Producer	TV Series
2013	That Puppet Game Show	Various	TV series

Future Projects

Henson is co-producing The Power of the Dark Crystal and Fraggle Rock: The Movie. However, both projects are currently on hold.