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The Behind the Scenes Pic of the Day is for the lovers, the dreamers and me!
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with today’s Behind the Scenes Pic!
Yesterday I saw a film at the SXSW Film Festival called Being Elmo about puppeteer Kevin Clash who is now famous for… well, being Elmo. The doc is great (review coming soon), but it gets very emotional as we follow Kevin’s story of getting to meet, work with and befriend his idol Jim Henson. The film touches upon the memorial for Henson, which is heartbreaking to me… If you’ve never experienced it, click here for a sad taste.
So, I was in a Henson mood and decided to dig up this great shot of the man and his most famous creation. This photo isn’t very rare, a great deal of you will probably have seen it before, but it’s one of the best portraits of the man ever taken. It brings a tear to my eye and a smile to my lips at the same time.
Enjoy and click for a much bigger version.
Tomorrow’s Behind the Scenes Pic will creep you out!
-Quint
quint@aintitcool.com
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Readers Talkback
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looking forward to seeing it.
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Not a term I level upon any person very frequently, but Jim Henson was a beloved and pure genius.
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Shouldn't have clicked on that memorial link...
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Henson got his start in advertising, long before Sesame Street, etc. This La Choy ad will always make me laugh. The mom tugging her son away from the dragon, the shopkeeper putting out the fire - very funny stuff. Check it out: <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/4bfdaR4xMeU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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Go to YouTube and type in "La Choy Dragon".
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didn't even like muppets when i was a kid. well, except for wanting to bone that dark crystal elf.
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Keep 'em coming. Helluva photo I've never seen. I appreciate the post.
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Kevin Clash was Splinter!
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Beautiful and gorgeous photo. Makes me smile. Thank you, Quint.
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March 13, 2011, 6:15 p.m. CST
You'll stop your whinging, you shitty little pantysniffers
by Star Hump
This is your pic of the day and you damn well better learn to love it.
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Nuff said. Haters should kindly fuck off ...
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get back the complete list of all the previously posted BTSP?? Thanks in advance.
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Wholeheartedly agree all counts. If you don't love the Muppets, then your heart is composed entirely of the blackest tar, harvested straight from Satan's ass. I would gladly set Snooki on fire then pitch her into the deepest chasm to have Jim Henson walk the earth once again. Actually, i'd do that anyway free of charge, but I think you get the point.
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sdfasfsaf++6das
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from childhood to adulthood, classic sesame streets are more entertaining and often laugh out loud funnier than the muppet show, which seems so dry. i guess it was groundbreaking at the time, and better than a lot of crap that was on tv in primetime. the guest spots on S.Street are often refreshing and warm- the overly scripted bits with stars on the muppet show were often cringe worthy.
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MANAMANAH!
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Most of us would be willing to pitch her off a cliff anyway.
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puppets rool!
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Fleshmachine Rules!!!
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ciderhouse rules!
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Seriously. What is it with some of the Muppet love here? I though geeks were into cutting-edge tech and new ideas and innovation. Why some here just lurrv them some Muppets, and declare that those of us who are indifferent to or just unimpressed by them must therefore have no soul is astonishing to me. Amusing too, though, and I have to admit to a touch of pity for those so obsessed with articulated armwear. When I was a kid, I watched this show called The Banana Splits, and it involved people in furry animal suits. I loved that show to death, but now? I take comfort in the fact that kids have no taste. Anyway, the Muppet Movie, which I saw the other day with the kids via Netflix, is still kinda fun, in a hippy-ish, 1970's kind of way. Kids were bored stiff though. Afterwards we watched Ponyo - now that they liked!
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I saw the Muppet show first-run, and thought it was unique, but seldom laughed at it. Very meanspirited stuff, it seemed to me. But occasionally Sesame Street did make me laugh, esp. when Cookie Monster would spot the object of his infatuation and growl: "COOOOKIEEE!!!" Cracked me up every time.
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Do I really need to say why. Thanks for that one, Quint.
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March 13, 2011, 7:55 p.m. CST
I was always interested in the more obscure Muppet characters...
by HarryKnowlesNonExistentInceptionReview
...likw Lew Zealnd, Roosevelt Franklin or the most frightening Muppet ever (for me anyway), Mr. Snuffle-up-agus. It scared the hell out of me as a kid that no one could see him but Big Bird.
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I challenge you to go watch the classic Aliens meet a telephone short and not laugh. It is one of the funniest sesame street sketches ever!
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anything with muppets (especially Kermit or Fozzy) makes me immediately 8 years old.... Man I loved the Muppet Show and all the movies........
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Training my nephew on Muppets, he loves it. Next stop Star Wars. Henson will always be remembered. Doc sounds good too.
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I don't care if this picture has been posted before. I don't care if the hardcore fanboys don't like it. I don't care if anyone was never a fan of the Muppets. Growing up with Sesame Street and The Muppet Show I really did love the brilliance of Henson and company and I think this is a wonderful picture of the man. Thanks for sharing it. ??Pseudo?? Out.
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he (Kermit) is still a living breathing person to me. Thanks Jim for bringing Kermit to life and for all the great memories.
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What kind of Polyanna upbringing did you have if you consider the Muppet Show jokes mean-spirited? I won't deny that sometimes Kermit lost his temper or Piggy got bitchy, but mean-spirited? Not on the show's worst episodes. As for the charge that the show wasn't funny, I think it helps to know that most of the gags were purposely written vaudeville-cheesy. I'll take a bad pun from a Muppet over the cringe-inducing over-the-top forced yuks from your average Two and a Half Bang Theory Your Mother any day.
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makes me cry like a fucking baby whenever I watch it. YouTube it if you want. Carol Spinney as Big Bird singing "It Ain't Easy Being Green", and the CRYING at the end. Big Bird crying. That fucking destroyed me the first time I watched it two to three years ago.
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There's even a cameo by an animated Hunter S. Thompson. The trailers didn't do this film justice. Best of 2011 so far.
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Which video?, my internets are weak and I cannot find it.
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"Why are there so many, songs about rainbows . . . (and Mr. Henson) What's on the other side . . .?
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...tucked away in his bed, getting ready to wake up early to go visit the statue of Liberty.
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March 13, 2011, 11:06 p.m. CST
I ONCE SAW A PROGRAM WHERE THE MUPPETS FOUND OUT JIM HENSON PASSED AWAY
by Meadowe
They were going to do a show and when they found he was gone they were backing out because they were too sad. Then one of them (prolly Kermit but don't quote me) started singing and then all the characters started singing in honor of their creator and friend. This was an old video tape recording of tv's greatest moments hosted by Jimmy Smits. Very touching stuff.
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The Muppet Show is still one of the best programs television has managed to provide us. Kermit is an everyman and to have that embodied in a frog speaks volumes of Jim Henson. That show produced some great moments (IE: The ENTIRE Harry Belafonte episode, any song by Kermit, etc.) This picture could be freshly dug up or been circulating the nets for years, it doesn't matter. The memories it brings are cherished.
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...when Mickey Rourke fucked Denise Huxtable, and her nipples stood up like thimbles, and then they were covered in blood, and she was screaming like she was being raped? Remember that? <p> How does that make you feel?
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrZyMptC2eQ That one right there.
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Nothing personal toward Kevin Clash, but Elmo ruined Sesame Street.
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You just made my shit list for sticking that song in my head at 1:45 a.m.!
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It's not really the fault of Clash or even the character. I more blame CTW for hopping on a character they saw as a merchandising goldmine and pushing him to the front as THE Sesame monster character. I grew up on the earlier stuff and Grover was my favorite of the monsters. I watch those old episodes and the newer ones with Elmo as the star and it's clear to me that where Grover was a fun supporting character for kids to cheer, Elmo *panders* to kids, and that's a huge difference. Elmo's high, sing-songy, artificially child-like voice combined with his bright red coloration and relentless cheery disposition all strike me as marketing. Not that my parents never bought me shit with Grover on it (my first album was Over, Under, Through on vinyl), but it wasn't as insane as it is now with Elmo. Maybe the documentary would change my mind about the intent of the character, but I just can't take him. He's too aggravating by half and for someone like me who holds Grover so dear it's like a betrayal. I'd rather listen to Telly complain about something silly than hear Elmo sing about how tra-la-la frigging happy he is to get a hug.
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A variety show with muppets lasted 5 seasons.
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March 14, 2011, 2:56 a.m. CST
The behind the scene pic of the day, yet more padding for a no news AICN, yawn.
by Arkhaminmate001
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and from arkhaminmate001 this time, more twat bitching about no new fresh news or some such shit. This afterbirth even typed "yawn." These submentals are fucking relentless. When will a tsunami come and sweep THEM away? God? No answer. This is Jim Henson. This is Kermit. This is a behind the scenes look at how the magic was created. It's totally moving. I almost wish I hadn't looked. We're talking the Muppets here. We weren't supposed to see this. This, the most magical of entertainments, especially Kermit.
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March 14, 2011, 7:18 a.m. CST
These young whippersnappers today don't know what theymissed.
by Grammaton Cleric Binks
At least Sesame Street is still here, but if you were about ten when Muppet Show was in its prime then you lived at the peak time for kids tv ever.
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Wonderful. Share a website with you , put this url in google sirch (http://www.chic-goods.com/ ) Believe you will love it. We accept any form of payment.
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It evokes the ridiculous and sublime. Henson looking like Christ--complete with headset that evokes the crown of thorns--contemplates his greatest creation--sprung from his mind, animated by his will--yet individual and real in itself. Kermit looks upon his creator with understanding, but also slightly perplexed--unaware of what is below--his absolute dependency on his creator. That's the sublime. The ridiculous, of course, is that it is a green frog puppet and its puppeter that invokes this.
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He called Big Bird just "Bird", cuz they were roughly the same height. Oh, and the bemused reaction I got from my mom, when at 5 years old, I wondered out loud if Barkley was a real dog. (I was 5!!!)
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That was sublime.
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In my opinion, Jim Henson is probably the closest we've come to producing a god in entertainment. Not just because he was genius, but he created a world that he actively ran and inhabited. The man defines the word magic. He was an alchemist with felt. This pic demonstrates that. If that's not "geek, cutting edge" then kindly fuck off. I tried that link to the Jim Henson memorial and could only get through about 20 seconds before I had to turn it off. Anything involving Henson, particularly his death, will leave me weeping like a little girl. I rewatched the 1st 3 seasons on dvd of the Muppet Show with my daughter. And we loved it. They seriously don't make them like they used to - this was family friendly, but still written as if the audience were adults. It's in the classic vaudeville and British music hall tradition, not just in the comedy, but even the musical numbers (especially those very British numbers that were cut from the American broadcasts). It was genius from beginning to end. I wish they could do another show, possibly a behind the scenes Garry Shandling type of show within a show deal with celebrities and stuff. It would fit today's meta sensibilities. Could be a great satire of the entertainment biz. I just hope Segal doesn't fuck this movie up. one more thing. If Dr. Teeth = Dr. John, does Ralph = Tom Waits? I'll give you 2 guesses who my favorite Muppet is.
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was a genius. "The Rainbow Connection" is a beautiful song. If you didn't like "The Muppet Show" or at least appreciate it, you have a cold dark soul. Thanks for the picture.
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I've never seen it, and highlights the magic of Jim and that show and of all those fond memories from childhood. The unappreciative cynics, and those who say "it was never funny" or "I never understood the appeal", well, I truly feel sad for you. Because these shows were magic for kids. Hilarious, entertaining, warm, they were incredible all-round. And arkhaminmate001, you want some news? This just in: You're a tard!
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And heartbreaking.
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I would never trust a grown man who spends all his time playing with dolls, but that's just me. It's a mostly free world.
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Kinda' glad he isn't around to see what cynical and bitter fucks we've all become. Bob Ross too.
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Very easy for me to look past the fact that Kermit has no legs, looks like the two of them are just shooting the breeze while taking a break from filming. Anyone who weeped at the Henson tribute on youtube; if you want to really punish yourself, try to find the clip when Big Bird and the Sesame Street cast say goodbye to Mr. Hooper. Have a hanky ready....
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Nails digging in, head on my shoulder... Jim Henson was a genius.
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Can't really explain why that caught my eye, but it just adds a subtle touch to the photo that I like. Maybe because I sometimes wonder what it takes for someone like Henson, or Disney for another example, to generate periods of creative genius like that; the wedding ring reminds me that, yup; they're human like the rest of us.... But that's just me....
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Nice guy. The Muppet Movie is so great.
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I've never seen it before. Can't wait to check out Elmo Doc.
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Better move away from the cage, Martha, the monkeys are throwing poo again.
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I read somewhere - I think right after he croaked, heheh - that ol' Jim didn't take that wedding ring, or his wedding vows, too seriously. Talk about a cold, dark soul - he cheated like mad, and his employees helped him do it. The family has done its best to keep it quiet, as per quashing a biography and buying a movie script based on Jim's life and then sitting on it. Maybe this knowledge has colored my view of him, and by extension, his work; I don't know. I doubt it, because I knew nothing of his philandering and chemical romances at the time the Muppet show was airing. I only knew that it was impressive technically - for a puppet show - but not that entertaining overall. As I mentioned, Sesame Street is what made me laugh sometimes. Exchanges like this: Grover: That was a waiter joke! Customer: Well, don't wait for the laugh! Are what stick in my mind. You like what you like, but elevating puppets as avatars for some kind of geek religion is a bit much. And then acting as if you're intellectually superior for doing so is beyond the pale. Just sayin'.
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You don't really believe everything you read on the interwebs, do you? Regardless of what Jim may or may not have done in his private life, it certainly does not taint what he did in his professional life. That's what we're fans of.
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Big Bird singing at Jim Henson's memorial service: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrZyMptC2eQ Big Bird learns that Mr. Hooper is dead: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NjFbz6vGU8
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The only song on the planet where simply the opening banjo riff is enough to reduce 96% of adult males between the ages of 30-45 to blubbering tears.....those are the 96% with a soul. Plain and simple, if you are like "Meh, I was never really into the Muppets, Sesame Street, or the Muppet Show, I just never got it", you are either 21 or a troll. Or Satan.
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Watched it again last Christmas and it lit up the child sparks in my heart. ;p total classic!
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Anyone wanna join me? They taste like chicken, honestly.
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I got to meet Kevin and elmo at the special muppets thing here on long island in 2007. HE showed us how he does everything and We got to take pictures with elmo (found out elmo LOOOOVVEES wines lol). HE was a cool guy I also got to meet Mrs Henson .She of course liked seasame street more then the muppets because she helped with sesame street. I asked Her what her husband would have thought about Disney owning the muppets and she stated her husband has said to her that if One other company were to OWN the mupptets besides his he would want it to be Disney. I am glad that they are now in good hands and I am also glad that the people who create the Seasame street series now own them also.
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and all of his creations is alright by me.
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this movie brings back such good memories. wonderful memories.
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