Brian Jay Jones Retraces Jim Henson's Final days!

For the last 32 years, May 16th has been a very hard day for Muppet fans. For those blissfully unaware, that is the day the world lost Jim Henson.

Over the last few days, Henson biography Brian Jay Jones has done an incredible job of not only retracing the timeline of events in leading up to Jim's untimely death, but doing so in an almost real time manner. 

The tweets/ threads are not easy to process - it's like re-watching a car accident you know doesn't go well, but the detail of the timeline, and the first person accounts Brian was able to get give the story new perspectives you probably didn't know.

Brian's done such a tremendous job with these, that we couldn't think of a better way to honor Jim this year, then but sharing his timeline of Jim's final days. 

May 4, 1990: Jim Henson appears with Kermit (and Clifford) on The @ArsenioHall Show. Jim isn’t feeling well--he says he's tired and his throat is sore—and things are clearly off as he ad-libs. At 4:00, Hall jokes about Jim stumbling over his lines. 1/4https://t.co/MTXasNLKLQ

— Brian Jay Jones (@brianjayjones) May 4, 2022

May 8, 1990: Jim Henson leaves his place in Malibu to drive to LAX to catch a flight to NYC. On the way to the airport, he drops in on agent Bernie Brillstein, whose father had recently passed away, to offer his condolences. /1 pic.twitter.com/fvnbLFmBx9

— Brian Jay Jones (@brianjayjones) May 8, 2022

Saturday, May 12, 1990: Jim Henson and his daughter Cheryl board a USAir flight at LaGuardia and touch down in Norfolk, VA a little after 10 a.m. It’s Mother’s Day weekend, and Jim wants to see his stepmom, Bobby, and his dad, Paul, in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. /1 pic.twitter.com/UUsIPowCuq

— Brian Jay Jones (@brianjayjones) May 12, 2022

Sunday, May 13, 1990: After telling his family he “didn’t feel good” on Saturday night, Jim Henson sleeps in on Sunday morning. Around noon, his cousin Stan, a physician, comes to pick him up and take him over to his parents’ house for lunch. /1

— Brian Jay Jones (@brianjayjones) May 13, 2022

Monday, May 14, 1990: Jim Henson woke up “feeling lousy.” His voice was wrecked and he was having trouble catching his breath. He called his assistant and told her to cancel his 8:30 breakfast meeting, and the recording session for Disney’s “Muppets on Location” at 10 am. /1

— Brian Jay Jones (@brianjayjones) May 14, 2022

Tuesday, May 15, 1990: Around 2 a.m., Jim Henson told his wife Jane that it was getting harder to breathe—and with every rasping cough, he was coughing blood.

Jane was determined to call a doctor. But Jim insisted he just needed to “calm down [his] breathing.” /1 pic.twitter.com/tOyUzwxFZp

— Brian Jay Jones (@brianjayjones) May 15, 2022 

New York Hospital, Wednesday, May 16, 1990: Around 1 a.m., Jim Henson’s blood pressure bottomed out, an indication that his heart had stopped beating. A medical team immediately rushed in and began to administer CPR.

/1

— Brian Jay Jones (@brianjayjones) May 16, 2022

Thank you Brian, and as we always say on May 16th, We miss you, Jim! 

The Muppets Win a Shorty!

As we first told you back in March, The Muppet's Twitter page was a finalist for a Shorty Award.

It it really makes me happy to spread the word that they won their category for "Best Overall Twitter Presence"

OBJECTIVE
On Twitter, @KermittheFrog, @MissPiggy, and the rest of @TheMuppets provide sensational, Muppetational entertainment. They can dive in to trends, sing songs, or just tell jokes. Twitter is a unique way for The Muppets to interact with fans instantly.


STRATEGY
As real-world celebrities, The Muppets are able to provide a unique er response to nearly any situation. From @KermittheFrog sharing wisdom with fans, @MissPiggy haranguing celebrity frenemies, or @StatlerWaldorf heckling anyone with an @ before their name, The Muppets do it all! With 11 accounts for different characters, there is a Muppet for every occasion: @GonzotheGreat can spam chicken emojis, @FozzieBear can joke about TikTok, and anything in between.


RESULTS
By utilizing The Muppets brand and character Twitter accounts, we were able to promote the Disney+ Original series Muppets Now in a truly unique way. With character Q&As, watch parties, and fan responses, The Muppets launched their new show in style.

Congratulations to The Muppets Studio and Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution including Leigh Slaughter, Michael Steinbach, Jim Lewis, Debra Kohls, and Ryan Dosier!