In honor of what would have been the 75th birthday of ‘Muppets’ creator Jim Henson, Google is celebrating with a new interactive doodle. The search engine replaces its official logo on its homepage with six original characters Henson created. Users can click on buttons under each character to see them move and do tricks. Users can also click on top of the doodle to access information about Henson.
The Jim Henson Company helped create the doodle, which was created with a combination of proprietary hardware and software. The patented system,called the Henson Digital Puppetry Studio, provides real-time performance of 3-D generated characters that are directable.
Henson is known for creating the Sesame Street characters, including Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster and Big Bird, which are still entertaining and educating children today. He also created ‘The Muppet Show’ and its famous characters, including Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy. Besides creating the two children’s shows, Henson also created puppets for such films as ‘The Dark Crystal’ and ‘Labyrinth.’ He also worked on creating Yoda for the Star Wars movie ‘The Empire Strikes Back.’
In mid-May 1990, Henson began experiencing flu-like symptoms. On May 15, he checked into to a New York hospital, and was placed on a mechanical ventilator, as he had trouble breathing on his own. He died the following day, and the official cause of death was ruled a bacterial infection.
Written by: Karen Benardello
Happy Birthday Google