
Rare TV Clip Reveals Jim Henson’s Hidden Ties to Iowa

Before becoming the biggest name in children's programming of the 20th century, the Mississippi native was just an incredibly talented puppeteer.
Some of his earlier puppets made appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show and various commercials.
It looks like Henson got his very early start in tv on an Iowa program.
What I uncovered is a short, nearly fifteen-minute segment on Iowa Public Television, now known as Iowa PBS. It features Henson showing viewers at home some tips and tricks on how to create their own puppets.
While they don't use the same fuzzy, green material that made Kermit the Frog a pop culture fixture; Henson and the Muppet designer Don Sahlin, demonstrated the art of creating puppets with some items you can find around your own home.
The clip also features one of my favorite Muppets, Rowlf the dog.
They used items like; wooden spoons, potatoes, pears, and even dishmops to create some fun and simple puppets. This clip aired in 1969, right around the time that Henson teamed up with the Children’s Television Workshop to produce Sesame Street.
Could this have been a test run to see how Jim Henson did in front of the camera before the organization took that big leap? Who knows!
Watch the full segment down below!
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