The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson (1990)

When I learned about Jim Henson's death in 1990, it was while I was watching the Muppet Movie. I was only 6 years old at the time, and I didn't understand it. I just enjoyed this special looking back at all the Muppet fun over the past years, not really knowing that what they were trying to remember was the man who gave birth to the Muppets - perhaps the greatest dreamer and visionary of my lifetime. Now as an 18 year old, I have fallen in love with the Muppets all over again - and I dusted off my copy of this special and played it. At the end, where they read the letters from the fans about Jim's death, I never fail to cry. Even as I write this, I'm tearing up a bit from just remembering Scooter (whose voice, Richard Hunt, would pass only 2 years later), Fozzie, and Piggy reading letters, and only then learning that Jim Henson had passed away. Ray Charles performs a beautiful version of "Bein' Green", with the help of the monsters from Sesame Street - and they show clips of Jim working on Muppet projects. They talk to his best friend, Frank Oz. They talk to Steven Spielberg, John Denver, Carol Burnett, Harry Belafonte, and they all remember something great and unique that Jim contributed to this world. This is the most touching tribute to anyone that I have ever seen, and I think it's good to sit down, watch it, and remember the great times that Jim gave us.