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.

Acting

2020

Derek DelGaudio's In & of Itself
Movie

Self - audience member (uncredited)

2002

It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
Movie

Scooter / Janice / Sal Minella (voice)

1999

Muppets from Space
Movie

Dr. Phil Van Neuter / Sal Minella (voice)

1996

Muppet Treasure Island
Movie

(voice) (uncredited)

1994

Muppet Classic Theater
Movie

Andy Pig / Mink in 'Gotta Get That Name' (voice)

1988

The Storyteller: The True Bride
Movie

The Storyteller's Dog (Voice)

1988

The Storyteller: The Heartless Giant
Movie

The Storyteller's Dog (Voice)

1988

The Storyteller: Hans My Hedgehog
Movie

The Storyteller's Dog (Voice)

1988

The Storyteller: The Luck Child
Movie

Griffin (Voice)/The Storyteller's Dog (Voice)

1988

The Storyteller: Fearnot
Movie

The Storyteller's Dog

1988

The Storyteller
Tv

Dog / Devil (voice)

1988

The Storyteller
Tv

Dog / Griffin (voice)

1988

1986

The Christmas Toy
Movie

Cruiser (voice)

1986

Labyrinth
Movie

Hoggle / Goblin (voice)

1985

Return to Oz
Movie

Jack Pumpkinhead (voice)

1984

The Muppets Take Manhattan
Movie

Additional Muppet Performer (voice)

1979

The Muppet Movie
Movie

Additional Muppet Performer

Production

2020

Earth to Ned
Tv

Executive Producer

2017

The Star
Movie

Executive Producer

2008

Sid the Science Kid
Tv

Executive Producer

2005

2000

Rat
Movie

Executive Producer

1999

Farscape
Tv

Executive Producer

1998

Brats of the Lost Nebula
Tv

Executive Producer

1997

1997

Buddy
Movie

Executive Producer

1996

Aliens in the Family
Tv

Executive Producer

1994

Muppet Classic Theater
Movie

Executive Producer

1992

Dog City
Tv

Executive Producer

1989

Directing

Crew

Creator

Infos

Full Name
Brian Henson
Gender
Male
Date of Birth
11/3/1963