Moving Image Celebrates JIM HENSON: THE BIOGRAPHY with Panel Discussion, Rare Clips, Reception Tonight

Museum of the Moving Image and The Jim Henson Legacy will celebrate the publication of Jim Henson: The Biography (2013, Ballantine Books), by Brian Jay Jones, with a special event featuring a reception, screenings of rare clips, a panel discussion, and book signing tonight, October 1. Jones's eagerly awaited biography, written with the cooperation of Jim Henson's family, covers the full arc of Henson's all-too-brief life, exploring the creation of the Muppets, Henson's contributions to Sesame Street and Saturday Night Live, his nearly ten-year campaign to bring The Muppet Show to television, and such non-Muppet projects as the richly imagined movies The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth.

This is the first event in a new monthly series Jim Henson's World, featuring screenings and personal appearances relating to Henson's prolific and unparalleled work in film and television. The programs will culminate in 2015 with the opening of a new gallery and exhibition devoted to exploring Henson's creative process. The gallery will be the New York home forhundreds of puppets and artifacts donated by the family of Jim Henson. At the press conference announcing the new gallery and donation, hosted by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg this past May, the Museum launched a $6 million fundraising campaign, of which $3 million has already been raised primarily from The City of New York for the construction of the new gallery, including support from private donors.

The October 1 event begins at 6:00 p.m. with a reception in the Museum's lobby, hosted by The Jim Henson Legacy and Random House. This will be followed by a program in the Redstone Theater with a panel discussion featuring some of the world's leading experts on Henson's life and his work. Participants include Brian Jay Jones, author; Fran Brill, the beloved Sesame Street performer; Bonnie Erickson, Executive Director of The Jim Henson Legacy; Dwight Bowers, curator of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History; Karen Falk, archivist for The Jim Henson Company; and Barbara Miller, Curator of the Collection and Exhibitions for Museum of the Moving Image. The program, moderated byCraig Shemin, President of The Jim Henson Legacy, will include rare clips of Henson talk show appearances, a 35mmscreening of Henson's Oscar-nominated experimental short film Time Piece (1965, 9 mins.), and other rarities.

Tickets for "Celebrating Jim Henson: The Biography" are $20 public / $12 Museum members. Advance tickets may be purchased online at movingimage.us or by phone at 718 777 6800.

A book signing will follow the theater program. Copies of Jim Henson: The Biography will be available for purchase in the Museum Store (Museum members receive a discount).