Jim Henson created puppets like none ever seen before, with expressive fabric faces and rod-controlled arms. His Muppets became world-renowned celebrities and formed the backbone of a media empire. Illustrations. Jim Henson broke into television with a five-minute puppetry segment when he was only a freshman in college. He created puppets like none ever seen before, with expressive fabric faces and rod-controlled arms. His Muppets became world-renowned celebrities and formed the backbone of a media empire. With black-and-white illustrations throughout, this easy-to-read biography will be published twenty years after Henson's untimely death.