Brian Henson
Brian Henson is known for Labyrinth (1986), The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), The Happytime Murders (2018).
Biography
Brian Henson (born November 3, 1963) is an American puppeteer, filmmaker, actor and the chairman of The Jim Henson Company. He is the son of puppeteers Jim and Jane Henson.
Henson was born on November 3, 1963, in New York City, the third child of Jane Henson (née Nebel; 1934–2013) and Jim Henson (1936–1990). He has four siblings: Lisa (born 1960), Cheryl(born 1961), John (1965–2014) and Heather Henson (born 1970).
As a child, Henson appeared in some of the filmed segments that his father produced for the PBS children's series Sesame Street.
As a teenager, he built the first Muppet penguin puppet for the opening "Lullaby of Broadway" segment of a Season 3 episode of The Muppet Show. During his summer break from high school at the age of 17, Henson assisted in the production of The Great Muppet Caper (1981); skilled in the use of marionette puppets, he helped create and operate a special rigging device that allowed the Muppets to appear to ride bicycles. Several years later, after performing marionette work in The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) in the scene in which rats cook food in a diner, he specialized in managing complicated special effects.
Henson performed Jack Pumpkinhead in Return to Oz (1985), operated special effects for Santa Claus: The Movie (1985) and was a principal performer for the Audrey II puppet in Little Shop of Horrors (1986), controlling mouth movement while others performed the lips and vines. He also performed the voice of Hoggle, one of the main characters in his father's film Labyrinth(1986), and the dog in both versions of The Storyteller (1988 and 1990).
In 1992, Henson directed The Muppet Christmas Carol and directed the next film in the franchise, Muppet Treasure Island, in 1996. He performed the role of Dr. Phil van Neuter, the Muppet mad scientist character he performed on Muppets Tonight, in Muppets from Space(1999). In 2018, he directed and produced The Happytime Murders, a puppet crime-comedy film for adult audiences.
Henson was the executive producer for several television series: Dinosaurs (1991–94), Aliens in the Family (1996), Bear in the Big Blue House (1997–2006) and Farscape (1999–2003). In addition to assuming an executive producer role, Henson served as the head judge on the 2014 reality television show Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge. He performed the roles of Janice and Scooter in the 2002 television film It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie.
Henson returned to perform Sal Minella, a character he created for Muppets Tonight, in Muppets Haunted Mansion (2021).
Henson is the cocreator, producer and performer for the adult-themed puppet-based variety show Puppet Up! and has played various characters from the show on the British program That Puppet Game Show.
For The Muppet Show Live in 2001, Henson performed his Muppet characters and one of his father's characters, The Newsman, for the first time. He reprised the role for the 2003 video game Muppets Party Cruise.
Henson married Ellis Flyte, costume designer for the 1986 fantasy adventure film Labyrinth, in November 1990. They divorced in 2002. In 2010, Henson married actress Mia Sara. They have one child, a daughter born in 2005.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Brian Henson, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Questions about Brian Henson
How many Brian Henson films are in the catalogue?
The CineQuiz catalogue has 46 films with Brian Henson, from 1967 to 2024.
What is the best rated Brian Henson film?
The best rated Brian Henson film in the catalogue is The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), rated 7.5.
What was the first Brian Henson film?
The first Brian Henson film in the catalogue is The Muppet Movie, from 1979.
Who has Brian Henson worked with the most?
In the catalogue, Brian Henson shares the most credits with Dave Goelz (8 films), Frank Oz (7 films) and Steve Whitmire (6 films).
People data: TMDb.
- Awards
- Scientific and Engineering Award (1992)
Known for
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7.3 Labyrinth
1986
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7.5 The Muppet Christmas Carol
1992
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5.8 The Happytime Murders
2018
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6.7 Return to Oz
1985
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7.2 The Muppet Movie
1979
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6.7 Muppet Treasure Island
1996
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6.6 The Muppets Take Manhattan
1984
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6.1 Muppets from Space
1999
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6.4 Muppets Haunted Mansion
2021
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6.9 The Great Muppet Caper
1981
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6.0 It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
2002
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7.8 Jim Henson Idea Man
2024
Trivia
- Also works as
- television director · film director · film producer · screenwriter · marionetteist · television producer · director
- Studied at
- Phillips Academy
- Spouse
- Mia Sara
- Father
- Jim Henson
- Mother
- Jane Henson
- Siblings
- John Henson · Lisa Henson · Heather Henson
Trivia from Wikidata, licensed CC0.
Full filmography
46 films — 46 in the catalogue
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7.8
Jim Henson Idea Man
2024 · Self
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Remembering Return to Oz
2021 · Self
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6.4
Muppets Haunted Mansion
2021 · Sal Minella
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7.4 Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
2021 · Self
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7.6 Derek DelGaudio's In & of Itself
2020 · Self - Audience Member (uncredited)
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5.8
The Happytime Murders
2018 · Crab
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7.0 In Their Own Words: Jim Henson
2015 · Self - Son
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7.4 Turtle Power: The Definitive History of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
2014 · Self
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8.1 A Night at the Movies: Merry Christmas!
2011 · Self - Interviewee
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Tinseltown
2007 · Samson Knight
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1.0 Journey Through the Labyrinth
2007 · Self
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5.8 Reflections of 'The Dark Crystal'
2007 · Self
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6.0 Best Ever Muppet Moments
2006 · Self
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5.2 The Muppets' Wizard of Oz
2005 · Sal (voice)
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6.0
It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
2002 · Scooter / Janice / Sal Minella (voice)
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6.3 I Love Muppets
2002 · Self
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6.1
Muppets from Space
1999 · Dr. Phil Van Neuter / Sal Minella (voice)
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6.7
Muppet Treasure Island
1996 · (voice) (uncredited)
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7.4 The World of Jim Henson
1994 · Self
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7.0 Muppet Classic Theater
1994 · Andy Pig / Mink in 'Gotta Get That Name' (voice)
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7.3 Living with Dinosaurs
1990 · Dog(voice)
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10.0 Jim Henson's Memorial Service
1990
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The Storyteller: The True Bride
1988 · The Storyteller's Dog (Voice)
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The Storyteller: The Heartless Giant
1988 · The Storyteller's Dog (Voice)
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The Storyteller: Sapsorrow
1988 · The Storyteller's Dog
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The Storyteller: Hans My Hedgehog
1988 · The Storyteller's Dog (Voice)
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The Storyteller: A Story Short
1988 · The Storyteller's Dog
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The Storyteller: The Luck Child
1988 · Griffin (Voice)/The Storyteller's Dog (Voice)
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The Storyteller: Fearnot
1988 · The Storyteller's Dog
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The Storyteller: The Soldier and Death
1988 · The Storyteller's Dog
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7.6 Inside the Labyrinth
1986 · Self
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6.9 The Christmas Toy
1986 · Cruiser (voice)
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7.3
Labyrinth
1986 · Hoggle / Goblin (voice)
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6.7
Return to Oz
1985 · Jack Pumpkinhead (voice)
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6.6
The Muppets Take Manhattan
1984 · Additional Muppet Performer (voice)
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6.9 Henson's Place: The Man Behind the Muppets
1984 · Self
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6.0 Split Image
1982 · Jerry
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6.9
The Great Muppet Caper
1981 · Muppet Performer / Cyclist
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7.2
The Muppet Movie
1979 · Additional Muppet Performer
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9.0 Sesame Street Pitch Reel
1969 · Self
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6.4 Wheels That Go
1967 · Boy
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Jim Henson's Creature Shop New York City Tour
no date · Samson Knight
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7.5
The Muppet Christmas Carol
1992
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Grendel
no date
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4.0 Tall Poppy
2022
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Which Witch?
no date
Series and TV shows
24 titles
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5.2
Earth to Ned
2020 · Executive producer · 20 ep.
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7.8
Prop Culture
2020 · Appearance
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6.4
Eli Roth's History of Horror
2018 · Appearance
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7.9
Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge
2014 · Himself - Lead Judge · 8 ep.
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6.5
Dinosaur Train
2009 · Executive producer · 158 ep.
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6.2
Sid the Science Kid
2008 · Executive producer · 67 ep.
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6.2
Sid the Science Kid
2008 · Director · 12 ep.
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7.0
Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King
2006 · Director
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6.8
Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story
2001 · Executive producer · 2 ep.
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6.8
Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story
2001 · Galaga (voice) · 2 ep.
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6.8
Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story
2001 · Director · 2 ep.
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6.8
Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story
2001 · Story · 2 ep.
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6.8
Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story
2001 · Teleplay · 2 ep.
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7.9
Farscape
1999 · Producer · 88 ep.
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7.9
Farscape
1999 · Director · 2 ep.
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7.6
Bear in the Big Blue House
1997 · Executive producer · 91 ep.
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7.4
Muppets Tonight
1996 · Sal Minella / Seymour / Dr. Phil Van Neuter · 34 ep.
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7.4
Muppets Tonight
1996 · Executive producer · 22 ep.
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7.4
Muppets Tonight
1996 · Director · 2 ep.
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7.8
Dinosaurs
1991 · Producer · 65 ep.
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8.2
The Storyteller: Greek Myths
1991 · The Dog · 4 ep.
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7.8
Dinosaurs
1991 · Director · 3 ep.
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7.8
Dinosaurs
1991 · Arthur Rizzic (voice) · 2 ep.
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8.2
The Storyteller
1988 · Dog / Devil (voice)
People data: TMDb.
Cast
