11 Facts About Jane Henson

Jane Ann Henson was an American puppeteer and the wife of Jim Henson.

Jane Ann Nebel was born and raised in St Albans, Queens, she met Henson when she was a senior and he a freshman at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Jane Nebel and Jim Henson worked together on the live 1950s television show Sam and Friends, where Jane collaborated with Jim in performing Muppets and devising several of the show's technical innovations, including the use of television monitors to watch their performances in real time.

When, in the late 1950s, Jim took a year off from Sam and Friends to travel in Europe, Jane ran the show, with the help of a UMD classmate.

Jane Henson helped Oz learn how to lip sync, and continued to perform non-speaking muppets on Sesame Street from time to time through at least the eighties.

Jane Henson was responsible for the hiring of puppeteer Steve Whitmire in 1978 after he gave her an impromptu audition in an Atlanta, Georgia airport restaurant.

Jane Henson was the main developer in the training of performers and profile creation for the walk-around versions of the Muppets.

Towards the end of her life, Jane Henson conceived the idea of a stylized puppet show based on the Gospel accounts of the birth of Jesus.

Jane Henson served on the boards of the Jim Henson Foundation and the American Center for Children's Television.

Jane Henson died from the disease at the family home in Greenwich, Connecticut, on April 2,2013, at the age of 78.

Jane Henson was buried at Saint Bridge Cemetery, Cornwall, Connecticut.