jim henson was 19 years old when he made kermit the frog out of his mother's old green coat. 35 years later he signed a 150 million dollar deal with disney and didn't get to see it close. how much he built in between is easy to forget… september 24 1936, greenville mississippi. born james maury henson. his family moves to maryland when he is a boy 1954. freshman year at university of maryland. he starts building puppets for fun. may 11 1955. sam and friends premieres on WRC-TV in washington dc. he is 19 years old. the show runs 6 years 1955. he sews kermit the frog out of a light green coat his mother no longer wears. ping pong balls cut in half for eyes. he performs with this same puppet for the next 35 years november 10 1969. sesame street premieres. his muppets are in the very first episode. he invents a new style of tv puppetry where only the puppet's head appears on screen and the performer stays below the frame september 18 1976. the muppet show premieres. 120 episodes. syndicated to more than 100 countries. 4 emmy wins. june 22 1979. the muppet movie. 79 million dollars worldwide december 17 1982. the dark crystal. first feature film in history with no human actors on screen. january 10 1983. fraggle rock debuts. 96 episodes february 17 1990. he signs a 150 million dollar acquisition deal with disney. it is the peak of his career and his business life may 16 1990. he is 53 years old. the disney deal falls apart overnight. disney does not own the muppets until 2004, 14 years later may 21 1990. memorial service at the cathedral of st john the divine in new york. over 2000 people attend. the muppet performers sing the song "just one person" together he always said he preferred the word performer over puppeteer. a puppeteer hides. a performer gives you something. which jim henson moment, muppet, or movie still lives in your head the loudest?