Jim Henson was a media creator.
James Maury `` Jim '' Henson ( September 24 , 1936 -- May 16 , 1990 ) was an American puppeteer , artist , cartoonist , inventor , screenwriter , film director and producer who achieved international fame as the creator of the Muppets . While he was a freshman at the University of Maryland , College Park , he created Sam and Friends , a five-minute sketch-comedy puppet show that appeared on television . He also appeared on the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live . He also had frequent roles in Muppets films such as The Muppet Movie , The Great Muppet Caper , and The Muppets Take Manhattan , and created advanced puppets for projects like Fraggle Rock , The Dark Crystal , and Labyrinth . The Muppet Show is a family-oriented comedy-variety television series that was produced by puppeteer Jim Henson and features The Muppets .