Jane Leventhal was for many years the vice president and director of Jim Henson Productions' publishing division, including overseeing the Muppet Press imprint and Muppet Magazine. She often served as editor on specific projects, including Miss Piggy's Guide to Life (as editorial director). Kermit referred to her as "my favorite publisher" in the acknowledgements to One Frog Can Make a Difference.
During the aborted attempt by the Walt Disney Company to acquire Henson, a June 1990 press release (one month after Jim Henson's death) announced that as Disney formed its own children's book publishing company, "Jane Leventhal, vice president and publisher of Muppet Press, will join the new publishing company once the acquisition of Jim Henson Associates is completed."[1]
Leventhal left the publishing division in 2000.[2] Her younger brother, J. P. Leventhal, was the founder of publishing house Black Dog & Leventhal, which published Sesame Street: A Celebration - 40 Years of Life on the Street.
Project credits[]
- The Art of the Muppets (1980) - Project editor
- Miss Piggy's Guide to Life (1981) - Editorial director
- The Miss Piggy Calendar 1982 (1982) - Editor
- Muppet Magazine (1983-1989) - VP of Publishing/Director of Publishing
- Jim Henson's Muppet Stories (1991) - Publisher for Jim Henson Productions
- Jim Henson: The Works (1993) - Creative director
- Muppet Treasury (1994) - Publisher for Jim Henson Productions, Inc.
Sources[]
- ↑ New York Times. "Company News: Disney Is Forming Children's Book Unit." June 30, 1990.
- ↑ Publishing Trends. Book View, December 2000