Did Disney Play a Part in Jim Henson's Death? | Some Boi Online 

I think it's complicated. I think the stress of dealing with Disney lawyers (more so than Eisner, although he definitely played his part, and he has to live with that) broke down an already weak immune system, but Jim also pushed himself so hard, every day of his life. Looking through pictures, you can see he aged rapidly during the 80s, and I think even if the Disney negotiations had been smooth sailing, he still could have gotten sick. It's kind of ironic too, that prior to Eisner saving Disney, Jim joked about buying *them* out. I do wish he and George Lucas merged companies though, and I'm surprised neither of them thoughI of it. I know Jim thought Disney would protect his characters, but he should've known very early on that this wasn't the same company as it was in Walt's day, I don't understand why he kept trying with then when it was making him unhappy and sick.

This was also discussed in Street Gang, the book about Sesame Street. Jim was a workaholic. His family, friends, and life were all part of that. He produced slo many things throughout the 70's and 80's and rarely rested. He also was raised in a Christian Science household. Whether or not that was a factor, it has been stated that he'd usually ride out most sickness without visiting a doctor. The growth of his signature beard was to conceal acne scars he developed in his teens when his parents refused access to Accutane. To say that Disney killed Jim is an oversimplification. Who is "Disney"? Walt has been dead since before Sesame Street aired. Heck, he passed on before the Civil Rights Movement ended. 😳 Michael Eisner and Jim had a pretty good working relationship before this deal. Sesame Street was never going to be part of it and that caused a lot of stress. Jeffrey Katzenberg was also, reportedly, flippant and dismissive of Jim. Those two people are responsible for a lot of that stress. Just saying "Disney" gets them off the hook. The reason Jim wanted to sell the Muppets, his fantasy properties, and Fraggle Rock was not due to illness or old age. He likely would never have retired. He wanted to just be creative, do things other than just the Muppets without ignoring them, and have a permanent studio backing. He hated having to continually prove himself to studio executives. His death was the result of a perfect storm of many things. Remove one of them and maybe he would have pulled through. Eisner wanted to set things right before he retired so he struck a deal with the Henson family who'd just purchased their properties back from German company EMTV. That's a different, even wilder, story. Nonetheless, Disney produced two Muppet films and two seasons of a TV show in the 90's. Henson and Disney had, and still have, a good working relationship. So, the answer is complicated. He had lost the funding deal from Lew Grade after in the mid 80's and was looking for a strong studio. They all are run by uncreative businessmen and would have all been difficult. Incidentally, a project that was discussed in Animation Magazine, written before Jim's death, but published after, mentioned interest in a traditionally animated film featuring the Muppets drawn by Disney animators. What could have been. There's just so much about that time. I was 16 in 1990. I remember it all as it happened. It can't be summed up in 5 minutes or an off the cuff statement from Oz.

Dropping their theatrical deal with Sony was a massive mistake. If Henson was still alive and had more of a say on the matter, I think he would probably reject the Disney deal altogether. Sony Pictures had worked with Jim and his team for a long time, distributing many of their films without posing nearly as much creative stress on the team unlike Disney. During this stretch of time, The Muppets had a wide appeal and never felt dumbed down in their movies. But when Disney bought them out in 2004, everything changed for the worse. 18 years into the acquisition, Disney has marketed The Muppets as nothing more than a cash cow for toddlers. An acquisition deal with Sony would have been much better competitively, as it would give the Muppets more relevance as Sony’s family-oriented IP for movies, and would have allowed Kermit and his gang to take on the Mouse himself in terms of competing for Box Office and merchandise sales. But now that Disney practically owns the world, they have no competitive incentive to move The Muppets forward and every attempt in doing so has failed miserably.

I wouldn't argue with Frank Oz but Disney did play a significant role in Jim's death.

Disney: just look at the flowers, Jim. Everything's going to be ok

I remember from the DefunctlandTV Documentary and several Jim Henson Biography books that Henson wanted to sell his company (Jim Henson Productions) to The Walt Disney Company with the deal including the Rights to The Muppets, his company and his other IP (e.g. Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, Fraggle Rock, etc..) except Sesame Street, so that Jim would focus on the creating new content so he wouldn't have to worry about the business management side when running his company as he's not a business man. However for the next 9 months after the Disney-Henson deal was announced in August 1989, Jim had faced a lot of disagreements with then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner and then-Walt Disney Studios President Jeffrey Katzenberg, the former who continued to badger the heck out of Jim Henson regarding if the Sesame Street characters were to be included in the acquisition to which Henson said "No", yet Eisner kept hounding Jim for months on the Sesame Street to which Jim has grown impatient not to mention it has also stressed Jim health mentally and physically even while he was creating Muppet content for Disney (e.g. Muppet Vision 3D, etc.). But then in May of 1990 when a deal was set to be finalized Henson passed away from streptococcal toxic shock syndrome which then resulted in the Disney-Henson acquisition deal to be cancelled.

How Jim died I think that had to do with the stress too. I never see many people talk about it but at the end of it Jim wasn’t going to the hospital it took coughing up blood for him to finally say I’ll go. And honestly I’m like you I didn’t know Jim I wasn’t even born yet when he died but no matter who are you you can tell Jim was always for the fans and for his art so I think at the end of it he probably put his health aside for the Disney deal and again idk But whatever happened it is so sad. Jim Henson no matter what was an amazing person. I didn’t know him but I have no doubt in my heart he was. I mean the fact that he not only helped jerry Nelson’s daughter, Christine achieve her dream cause she was gonna die but also changed the whole insurance plan when it ran out for Christine is just a little bit of proof of how good he was, how kind. And so no matter what happened it was and always will be a horrible loss and tbh in these dark days of corona I can’t help but wish jim was here to help us smile.

The Disney deal could have been a contributing factor to Jim's passing, but I don't think it was the primary factor. Jim knew that he was getting sick during the last days of his life, but he assumed that his pneumonia was just a cold and that it would go away and didn't see a doctor until the pain he was experiencing was too much for him to handle. Let's not also forget the reason Jim wanted to sell the Muppets to Disney to begin with: the projects he was working on during the last five years of his life were not doing so well. His second non-Muppet feature film Labyrinth was a critical failure and box office bomb, The Storyteller, while receiving critical acclaim, also got poor ratings and was cancelled before all it's episodes aired, and The Jim Henson Hour was poorly handled by NBC resulting in the first half of episodes (the MuppeTelevision segments) being poorly received and the show receiving poor ratings (although the second half, the remaining Storyteller and specials, were more warmly received). However, I'm pretty sure that the pneumonia was the major case for Jim's death. As Kevin Perjurer of the Defunctland RU-vid channel said in his excellent documentary series on Jim "It is more difficult to grapple with the idea that a creator that put so much meaning and purpose in his work could pass away from something so random." Final analysis: I don't think that the Disney deal was the main cause in Jim's death, but it certainly didn't make things any better.

The more I look into this, the more I feel bad for everyone involved and/or was a part of the Muppets such as Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Steve Whitmire, the Henson family, almost everything related to the Muppets in past, present, and potentially future

Frank's gonna have to lawyer up real fast I bet...

I think that he was lead to immense amounts of stress and unfortunately fell ill.

I think it's more the case of working out deal with Disney killed Jim. Trying to work out a deal to ensure the continuation of the Muppets stressed out Jim. Certainly didn't help with Eisner trying to weasel his grubby hands around Sesame Street too - which wasn't up sale, not even sure Jim owned the damn rights to it in the first place. I can certainly see where Oz is coming from and understand why his relationship with Disney would be soured even further if they, at least in his view, had a hand in his close friend's death.

This makes me furious how DARE they I feel like the muppets would have been even better now if … he was still alive. He cared so much about his work and it’s so sad to hear that happen to him.

Autopsy on Reelz needs to do an episode on Henson!

When I first saw the title and thumbnail I thought you meant that Disney sent an assassin or something.

This video explains it all as to why we hear very little about the muppets. I hate this.

Disney was clearly obsessed with wanting the Muppets, after Henson's death.

It was biggest mistake to deal with Disney the reason they brought the muppets is because they don't want compition. Henson could've accomplished so much the muppets could've had a bigger company, own franchise, a theme park and even a tv channel. The Henson channel.

But Another Question To Ask Is, Has Anybody Literally Died From Stress?

Big fish eat the little fish.

I’m surprised Jim didn’t get someone he knew who could make the deal stuff for/with him.

I personally think this and alongside the failure of his projects like the dark Crystal, labyrinth and the Jim Henson hour were what led to his death it’s such a shame too Jim Henson was a creative legend that we lost way too soon his legacy will never be forgotten and is an inspiration for many people

Disney

I don’t think they caused Jim’s death directly.

To make it more simple…yes…yes they did

It's the Lawyers and Disney Company's fault for causing Jim Henson to get Sick Ill and pass away because the Disney Company and Lawers were stressing him out so much

If you ask me, that's all just ridiculous NONSENSE! False rumors and hearsay, that's all they are.

Alright, I will probably say this. Disney killing Jim Henson? That can not possibly be true. Is it? Does anyone agree with me or know if I’m making sense? I want born when Jim Henson died so I would not really know to tell you the truth.

Oh boy..

😊 que Sera Sera....

So I think Frank Oz is a bit bitter and guilt ridden.

Although Frank Oz stated it, is Disney actually to blame for Jim Henson’s death? In fact, would Disney Studios be to Velma edit anyone’s death? Is Disney even to blame for if a person dies at all? Is Disney?

IVE KNOWN THIS FOR DECADES AND HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR PEOPLE TO FINALLY DISCUSS THIS! Disney killed Henson. He was a good man and never said a swear word- not until Disney was squeezing the life out of him. Claimed he died of a rare mysterious illness…hmm…really?