There were mice running on aerial tramways made of Slinkys. The mice would venture from their aquariums to dash along the coils and on to the desks of creatives working inside The Jim Henson Company workshop in New York City in the 1970s. This is one detail Bonnie Erickson remembers about her zany office.
Erickson was a puppet builder inside the original Henson workshop; she designed Miss Piggy, with her red lips, rosy cheeks and doe eyes. The grumpy old hecklers, Statler and Waldorf, were also her creation. Erickson’s husband had rescued the mice from a hospital where he worked and relocated them to the Henson workshop. When the mice wouldn’t race on the Slinkys, Erickson’s mentor Don Sahlin (master puppet builder) would jokingly spank them on the tush with a Popsicle stick. Erickson laughs whenever she retells the story.
Dave Goelz, who was first a puppet builder in the workshop and later performed as Gonzo the Great, remembers the mice. He also remembers bottles of Tabasco. Steve Whitmire, the puppeteer behind Ernie, Beaker and Rizzo the Rat, used to randomly place bottles of Tabasco around the workshop for Goelz to find. Goelz started collecting them and then used them as inspiration to invent a sculpture called Mr. Sauce, an imagining of what he might look like if it were to drink all that Tabasco.
“It was playtime, and Jim supported it,” Erickson said of his boss Jim Henson.
“Jim knew that if we were having fun, our work would be better,” Goelz added.
Credit: Courtesy of The Jim Henson Company
Credit: Courtesy of The Jim Henson Company
Henson had an eye for diverse and eccentric talent.
“That was the first thing that struck me when I got there,” Goelz remembers, “I just thought, my God, the amplitude and breadth of characters here is amazing. Everybody was unique … everybody brought something to it that nobody else could … For us to fall into his group was just beyond good fortune. There was no company like it in the world ever.”
Inside the Henson workshop, Goelz, Erickson and Henson’s team of builders, designers and performers — the creators of the Muppets and “Sesame Street” among other shows — thrived on a spirit of merrymaking and creative collaboration.
“It was a culture,” Erickson remembers.
That culture could be called “affectionate anarchy,” Goelz said.
The phrase became the inspiration behind a new special exhibition opening at The Center for Puppetry Arts on April 2.
“Affectionate Anarchy: Creating with Jim Henson” will celebrate the artists and innovators who collaborated with Henson during the first 25 years of The Jim Henson Company, which celebrates its 70th anniversary this year.
Through the stories and contributions of figures like Frank Oz (the puppeteer behind Yoda and Fozzie Bear), Jerry Juhl (head writer for “The Muppet Show”), Don Sahlin (master puppet builder of Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Grover, The Count and more), Caroll Spinney (puppeteer behind Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch) and others, visitors will get to experience the energy of Henson’s legendary workshop.
Credit: Courtesy of The Jim Henson Company
Credit: Courtesy of The Jim Henson Company
Inside the center’s permanent Henson Collection, which is one of the largest Henson collections in the world, visitors can also go inside a room that was designed to re-create the New York workshop (mice included).
To kickoff the special exhibition, Goelz, Erickson, Whitmire, Oz (virtually) and other Henson originals, will sit for a panel discussion called “Affectionate Anarchy: Muppet Prank Culture Panel.” The group will share inside, humorous stories of the pranks they pulled on each other during the Henson workshop era. The panel discussion will take place, fittingly, on April Fools’ Day. Attendees of the panel discussion will get a sneak peek at the special exhibition the night before it officially opens April 2.
A pop-up exhibit will also open April 2 to celebrate the Jim Henson Company’s 70th anniversary. The pop-up will display pieces from Henson creations “Farscape,” “Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance,” and “Sid the Science Kid.”
All of the events will pay homage to the beloved man behind the company, Jim Henson, who died at the age of 53 from sudden bacterial pneumonia.
“He was just the most extraordinary person,” said Goelz. “He was an employer and a friend, a collaborator and a booster. He boosted us all.”
If you go
“Affectionate Anarchy: Muppet Prank Culture Panel” is from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. April 1, $45 for members, $75 for nonmembers. “Affectionate Anarchy: Creating with Jim Henson” special exhibition runs April 2 through Oct. 26, free for members, $16 for nonmembers. Both at Center for Puppetry Arts, 1404 Spring St NW. puppet.org.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
