Recent content by brianjayjones

I remember seeing the first episode, actually. Back in The Old Days When We Had Only Five Channels, I used to go through the TV Guide each week and circle anything I wanted to be sure I watched. And there were always these breakout boxes that took up about half a page called "Close Up," I think...

That's three questions, actually! Choosing a favorite Muppet is REALLY hard. I really fell in love with Rowlf the more I read and researched and watched. I think he's probably closer to Jim's personality than Kermit. And when you watch Rowlf on the Jimmy Dean Show in the 1960s, it's like...

I couldn't really speculate beyond what's already in the book. When Jim was putting together his proposals for the Broadway show that never materialized, he would use the live H.R. Puf'n'stuf Show as an example. The Kroffts were already doing what he wanted to do -- sort of -- and had gotten...

Sure. There were two big things. First, Jim was almost pathologically conflict-averse. You suspect it, sure, because Jim’s such a decent guy, but I had no idea the sheer extent of it. Jim wouldn’t resolve debates with his attorneys, couldn’t fire or discipline his staff, and wouldn’t even...

While the Henson Company probably has them in their archives for their own internal use and reference, I relied on the three seasons that were already out on DVD, and then pulled the rest off YouTube. (If you're asking if I got copies of all the seasons of TMS from Disney, the answer is no.)

Sure. It's the guy in this photo who's NOT Jim.

I really had very few pre-conceived notions going into it. However, I did have people ask me to "find out about the drugs!" Some of the Muppet stuff is just SO crazy and weird and wonderfully bizarre, that people think that Jim and the gang had to be on drugs. So, I was at least on the lookout...

I have no issue with it whatsoever. In my first book, I referred to everyone, even my "main character," by their last names. Nah. Once you decide that's what you're gonna do, ya gotta own it. My decision was to call Jim by his first name, and everyone else (with the exception of family...

One of the very first documents I ever received from Karen Falk was a color photocopy of the complete Red Book. The original is well protected and filed away in the Henson Company archives. (I saw it, and got to page through it, but never used it as my formal reference. I wore out my photocopy...

Ha! I KNEW that was gonna spark some conversation! Alas, while several people told the story, they would't go on the record as to WHO it was Richard was talking about, so I couldn't get it cleared for use. I now officially declare it a Muppet Fan Parlor Game. I made the decision early on to...

Probably not, sorry! Posting unedited text is a bit like going about with no trousers on. And my editor was right about it: it was fun, but it didn't quite hang together. Not annoyed at all! This is the fun stuff! I wasn't crying when I wrote the last chapter, but it WAS very emotional. I had...

Are you asking: "What do some of the Muppet performers or Jim's colleagues think of the book?" If so, then I'm pleased to say that I've spoken with many of Jim's co-workers and performers, all of whom have said really nice things about the book. If you click here, it'll take you to my website...

Full, unlimited access, through Karen Falk, the Henson Company's crackerjack archivist. And she was (and is) the greatest. ETA: For production archives -- if you mean video clips and the like -- I worked through the film archivists in the Henson Company in Hollywood, who provided me with...

Sure, but let's do it over e-mail rather than PM! Drop me an email at brian (at) brianjayjones (dot) com.

Actually, there were few substantive matters that were excised. Early on, my editor gave me the leeway and length I needed to tell Jim's story as comprehensively as possible -- this was the first time, after all, that Jim had been at the front of a full-length, "grown up" biography, so I wanted...