John Henson

John Paul Henson (b. April 25, 1965 - February 14, 2014) was a performer, craftsman and co-owner of The Jim Henson Company. He was the fourth of Jim and Jane Henson's children.

As a child, Henson appeared in his father's Numerosity films for Sesame Street as a boy showcasing "10 bells" and in the film "Memories" for Bufferin as the narrator's son.

In an October 1987 interview with the Washington Post, Jim Henson spoke of his children and their work within the company; of John, Henson said: "John, the second youngest, does some work with us in New York, performing some of the big characters we do, such as Sweetums."

By the late 1980s, Henson had taken over performing the body suit puppetry for Sweetums as Richard Hunt had become physically unable to do so. Hunt continued performing the dialogue for Sweetums until his passing in 1992, after which Henson took over the character completely. Henson performed the part in Muppet*Vision 3D, with the dialogue looped by Hunt. In appearances after Hunt's death, such as the featured role in Muppet Treasure Island, Henson supplied both the puppetry and the voice. Henson was the primary performer of Sweetums for over a decade; his last performance of the character was for The Muppets' Wizard of Oz in 2005. The character has since transitioned to other performers.

In addition to his performances in television and film projects, Henson made live appearances as Sweetums for a number of events, including: a 1992 musical tribute to Jim Henson at the Lincoln Center in Armonk, New York; throughout the MuppetFest weekend in 2001; and at the unveiling ceremony for Kermit the Frog's star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2002.

In the early 1980s, Henson, along with John Kahn, built "The Great Hot Air Balloon Circus" to decorate the spiral staircase of the townhouse where the company was headquartered at the time. Although it has since been moved to a different location, another of his sculptures now welcomes visitors to the company's current New York offices. Made of brass and other metallic, moving parts, the piece was based on one of his father's own sketches.

Credits

 * Inner Tube
 * Jim Henson Hour Pitch Reel
 * Muppet*Vision 3D- Sweetums (puppetry only)
 * CityKids
 * Muppet Treasure Island - Sweetums
 * Muppets Tonight - Sweetums
 * Muppets from Space - Sweetums
 * MuppetFest: The Muppet Show Live - Sweetums
 * The Coca-Cola Polar Bear (live appearances)
 * It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie - Sweetums
 * Muppets Party Cruise - Sweetums (voice)
 * The Muppets Wizard of Oz - Sweetums