Search Everything

Login

Send feeback or report a bug here

Send feeback or report a bug here

Brian Henson

Brian Henson

Brian Henson (born November 3, 1963) is an American puppeteer, filmmaker, actor and the chairman of The Jim Henson Company. He is the son of puppeteers Jim and Jane Henson. Henson was born on November 3, 1963, in New York City, the third child of Jane Henson (née Nebel; 1934–2013) and Jim Henson (1936–1990). He has four siblings: Lisa (born 1960), Cheryl(born 1961), John (1965–2014) and Heather Henson (born 1970). As a child, Henson appeared in some of the filmed segments that his father produced for the PBS children's series Sesame Street. As a teenager, he built the first Muppet penguin puppet for the opening "Lullaby of Broadway" segment of a Season 3 episode of The Muppet Show. During his summer break from high school at the age of 17, Henson assisted in the production of The Great Muppet Caper (1981); skilled in the use of marionette puppets, he helped create and operate a special rigging device that allowed the Muppets to appear to ride bicycles. Several years later, after performing marionette work in The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) in the scene in which rats cook food in a diner, he specialized in managing complicated special effects. Henson 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. He also performed the voice 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). In 1992, Henson directed The Muppet Christmas Carol and directed the next film in the franchise, Muppet Treasure Island, in 1996. He performed the role of Dr. Phil van Neuter, the Muppet mad scientist character he performed on Muppets Tonight, in Muppets from Space(1999). In 2018, he directed and produced The Happytime Murders, a puppet crime-comedy film for adult audiences. Henson was the executive producer for several television series: Dinosaurs (1991–94), Aliens in the Family (1996), Bear in the Big Blue House (1997–2006) and Farscape (1999–2003). In addition to assuming an executive producer role, Henson served as the head judge on the 2014 reality television show Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge. He performed the roles of Janice and Scooter in the 2002 television film It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie. Henson returned to perform Sal Minella, a character he created for Muppets Tonight, in Muppets Haunted Mansion (2021). Henson is the cocreator, producer and performer for the adult-themed puppet-based variety show Puppet Up! and has played various characters from the show on the British program That Puppet Game Show. For The Muppet Show Live in 2001, Henson performed his Muppet characters and one of his father's characters, The Newsman, for the first time. He reprised the role for the 2003 video game Muppets Party Cruise. Henson married Ellis Flyte, costume designer for the 1986 fantasy adventure film Labyrinth, in November 1990. They divorced in 2002. In 2010, Henson married actress Mia Sara. They have one child, a daughter born in 2005. Description above from the Wikipedia article Brian Henson, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Personal information

Birthday

1963-11-03

Birth Place

New York City, New York, USA

Movies and TV shows :

A Night at the Movies: Merry Christmas!

A Night at the Movies: Merry Christmas!

2011

8.1

Movie
Best Ever Muppet Moments

Best Ever Muppet Moments

2006

6.0

Movie
Derek DelGaudio's In & of Itself

Derek DelGaudio's In & of Itself

2020

7.5

Movie
poster

Dinosaurs

1991

7.8

TV
poster

Eli Roth's History of Horror

2018

6.6

TV
poster

Going Live!

1987

6.0

TV
Henson's Place: The Man Behind the Muppets

Henson's Place: The Man Behind the Muppets

1984

6.7

Movie
I Love Muppets

I Love Muppets

2002

6.3

Movie
In Their Own Words: Jim Henson

In Their Own Words: Jim Henson

2015

7.0

Movie
Inside the Labyrinth

Inside the Labyrinth

1986

7.6

Movie
It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie

It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie

2003

6.0

Movie
poster

Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story

2001

6.8

TV
Jim Henson Idea Man

Jim Henson Idea Man

2024

7.7

Movie
poster

Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge

2014

7.9

TV
Jim Henson's Memorial Service

Jim Henson's Memorial Service

1990

10.0

Movie
Journey Through the Labyrinth

Journey Through the Labyrinth

2007

1.0

Movie
Labyrinth

Labyrinth

1986

7.3

Movie
Living with Dinosaurs

Living with Dinosaurs

1990

7.5

Movie
Muppet Classic Theater

Muppet Classic Theater

1994

6.9

Movie
Muppet Treasure Island

Muppet Treasure Island

1996

6.7

Movie
Muppets from Space

Muppets from Space

1999

6.1

Movie
Muppets Haunted Mansion

Muppets Haunted Mansion

2021

6.4

Movie
poster

Muppets Tonight

1996

7.5

TV
poster

Prop Culture

2020

7.7

TV
Reflections of 'The Dark Crystal'

Reflections of 'The Dark Crystal'

2007

5.8

Movie
Remembering Return to Oz

Remembering Return to Oz

2021

0.0

Movie
Return to Oz

Return to Oz

1985

6.7

Movie
Sesame Street Pitch Reel

Sesame Street Pitch Reel

1969

0.0

Movie
Split Image

Split Image

1982

6.1

Movie
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street

Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street

2021

7.4

Movie
The Christmas Toy

The Christmas Toy

1986

6.7

Movie
The Happytime Murders

The Happytime Murders

2018

5.8

Movie
poster

The Jim Henson Hour

1989

9.0

TV
The Muppet Movie

The Muppet Movie

1979

7.2

Movie
The Muppets Take Manhattan

The Muppets Take Manhattan

1984

6.5

Movie
The Muppets' Wizard of Oz

The Muppets' Wizard of Oz

2005

5.2

Movie
poster

The Storyteller

1988

8.1

TV
The StoryTeller

The StoryTeller

0.0

Movie
poster

The Storyteller: Greek Myths

1991

8.1

TV
The World of Jim Henson

The World of Jim Henson

1994

7.3

Movie
Wheels That Go

Wheels That Go

1967

6.2

Movie