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John Paul Henson (April 25, 1965 – February 14, 2014) was an American puppeteer, best known for his association with the Muppets. Henson was the son of puppeteer Jim Henson (1936–1990), best known as the creator of the Muppets, and Jane Henson (1934–2013), who assisted in the launch of the Muppets. He had four siblings: Lisa (born 1960), Cheryl (born 1961), Brian (born 1963) and Heather (born 1970). Henson performed Muppet character Sweetums starting in 1992 following the death of Richard Hunt (who had trained Henson to perform the character). The role has since been passed to different puppeteers, including David Rudman, Noel MacNeal, Rob Mills and Matt Vogel, who officially assumed the role in 2009. In addition to his work with the Jim Henson Company, Henson produced independent films and worked as a production designer, animator, writer, wood worker, artist and builder. Zelda Catwoman of Queens, a short film that he cowrote and produced with longtime collaborator and childhood friend filmmaker Alex Halpern, won the student Academy Award in the experimental division, just prior to his father's death in 1990. On February 14, 2014, at the age of 48, Henson died at his home in Saugerties, New York following a heart attack. His family conducted a private funeral. He was cremated and his ashes were given to his family.
Brian Henson boldly walks into Disney headquarters and negotiates The Muppets removal from Disney. Bill Barretta starts a campaign by creating a mini-series titled "After Dark with Pepé the King Prawn", a late night talk show starring Bill Barretta's characters. He brings Steve Whitmire and Frank Oz to come back and play their characters for the movement. Arjuna Myles creates the puppets, and Bill signs up thousands of professional scientists to create an invention that allows the illusion of puppeteering to climb to another level. Disney separates themselves from The Jim Henson Company and they recast Steve Whitmire as Kermit, keeping Matt Vogel in the cast. Frank Oz occasionally substitutes for Eric Jacobson. They finally decide around Christmas 2026 to release Midnight Muppets. An all-new adult show made by Bill Barretta, Colin Jost and Brian Henson.
