Born in Greenville, MS; educated at University of Maryland (theater arts). Henson invented the irresistibly cute Muppets as a teenager, appearing with them on numerous shows before the advent of "Sesame Street" in 1969, which made them household names. In 1976 came "The Muppet Show" which gained worldwide popularity and generated several feature films, notably THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN (1984). "The Muppet Show" was nominated for 6 Emmys and won in 1978 for Outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music Series. Henson was involved in several other fantasy-related film and TV ventures through his successful Henson Associates. He began proceedings to merge his corporation with the Walt Disney Company in 1989, shortly before his untimely death from pneumonia; the merger attempt was finally abandoned in 1991. More than any other writer or filmmaker -- even George Lucas or Steven Spielberg -- Henson was responsible for creating the culture our children have grown up in since 1970. The world of "The Muppets," "Sesame Street" and "Fraggle Rock" is sophisticated and realistically complex at the same time that it is childlike and refreshingly entertaining. Where Disney gave an earlier generation simplistic cartoon figures and reworked 19th-century myths, Henson and associates created fresh myths to encompass new realities.  Nominated for Short Subjects (Live Action Subjects) 1965: TIME PIECE - Producer 1 nomination