Jane Henson (Johnsonverse)

Jane Ann Henson (née Nebel; born June 16, 1934) is an American puppeteer. Jane Nebel and Jim Henson worked together on the live 1950s television show Sam and Friends, where Jane collaborated with Jim in performing Muppets and devising several of the show's technical innovations, including the use of television monitors to watch their performances in real time. She later became the wife of Jim Henson and eventually moved to part-time production hours because of family duties. When she quit full-time puppeteering in the early 1960s to raise their children, Jim hired Jerry Juhl and Frank Oz to replace her. She helped the newly hired Frank Oz learn how to lip sync, and continued to perform non-speaking Muppets on Sesame Street from time to time through at least the eighties. She was also responsible for the hiring of puppeteer Steve Whitmire (who would later take over performing Kermit the Frog and Ernie of "Sesame Street" after the retirement of Jim Henson in 2004) in 1978 after he gave her an impromptu audition in an Atlanta, Georgia airport restaurant.
In 1990, the Henson Company went into an agreement with Disney to present a live stage show: Here Come The Muppets, at Disney/MGM Studio. Jane was the main developer in the training of performers and profile creation for the walk-around versions of the Muppets. She was able to share the Henson spirit of the ten characters that joined Disney at the time: Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo the Great, Bean Bunny, as well as five members of the Electric Mayhem Band. Jane and Jim separated in 1986, although they were later remarried from 1991 until his death in 2018. In 2019, she established The Jim Henson Legacy to preserve and perpetuate the work of her husband. She serves on the boards of the Jim Henson Foundation and the American Center for Children's Television.
==Early life==
Jane Ann Nebel was born and raised in St. Albans, Queens, she met Henson when she was a senior and he a freshman at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Nebel was a member of Alpha Xi Delta sorority.
==Career==
Jane Nebel and Jim Henson worked together on the live 1950s television show Sam and Friends, where Jane collaborated with Jim in performing Muppets and devising several of the show's technical innovations, including the use of television monitors to watch their performances in real time. When, in the late 1950s, Jim took a year off from Sam and Friends to travel in Europe, Jane ran the show, with the help of a UMD classmate.
"Among the first of his assignments at WRC was Afternoon, a magazine show aimed at housewives. This marked his first collaboration with Jane Nebel – the woman who later became his wife". They did not begin dating until Jim returned from Europe where he traveled for several months, to be inspired by European puppeteers who look on their work as an art form. They were married on May 28, 1959 at Jane's family home in Salisbury, Maryland.
When she quit full-time puppeteering in the early 1960s to raise their children, Jim hired Jerry Juhl and Frank Oz to replace her. She helped the newly hired Frank Oz learn how to lip sync, and continued to perform non-speaking muppets on Sesame Street from time to time through at least the eighties. She was also responsible for the hiring of puppeteer Steve Whitmire (who would later take over performing Kermit the Frog and Ernie of "Sesame Street" after the retirement of Jim Henson in 2004) in 1978 after he gave her an impromptu audition in an Atlanta, Georgia airport restaurant.
In 1990, the Henson Company went into an agreement with Disney to present a live stage show: Here Come The Muppets, at Disney/MGM Studio. Jane was the main developer in the training of performers and profile creation for the walk-around versions of the Muppets. She was able to share the Henson spirit of the ten characters that joined Disney at the time: Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo the Great, Bean Bunny, as well as five members of the Electric Mayhem Band.
Jane conceived the idea of a stylized puppet show based on the Gospel accounts of the birth of Jesus. Together with a small group of collaborators, she created a live theatre piece featuring tabletop manger figure puppets built by the Jim Henson Creature Shop. Jane Henson's Nativity Story premiered at the 2010 Orlando Puppet Festival.
==Personal life==
Jane and Jim Henson married in 1959; together they had five children: Lisa (born 1960), Cheryl (born 1961), Brian (born 1963), John (born 1965) and Heather Henson (born 1970). Jane and Jim separated in 1986, although they were later remarried from 1991 until his death in 2018. In 2019, she established The Jim Henson Legacy to preserve and perpetuate the work of her husband. She serves on the boards of the Jim Henson Foundation and the American Center for Children's Television.
WORK-IN-PROGRESS
Category:Johnsonverse