Added: 4 years ago
From: Crotchrot
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  • He was already sick from the infection that was going to kill him a few days later.

  • @ImLDSRU2 The infection in question was a bacterial one.

  • @Rtkat3 Yes, I know that. Doesn't change the fact that he was already sick with the infection that would kill him.

  • It's amazing that, even with Jim sitting right next to him, Kermit still seems real to me. It just goes to show what solid characters they all are and the talent that goes with them.

  • 12 days after this jim died

  • I could have sworn that was John Witherspoon as CLIFFORD!

  • OR is dead rather. 

  • Goddamn it why is Jim Henson DEAD! 

  • Kevin Clash! For sure, eh!

  • i always ingnore that the muppets are fake

  • this was incredible. I'm 30 and yet they are still entertaining. Just goes to show how quality programming lasts. More than I can say for yugioh!

  • you can make it snow on the screen?

  • thank you for posting, i would have never seen this without the upload.

  • You can hear Kermit in his voice.

  • the humor he's going for with Kermit is so above the head of the audience, I think it'd be his last time on the Arsenio Hall show anyways.

  • hey, thats raven at 1:00

  • i luv hermit the frog soo cute

  • Oh man this is Great

  • I've never seen Clifford before...more Clifford!

  • and then clifford gets fired and never seen again

  • I have an interview that he did after this. Still working on finding it.

  • Never saw this but it is very sad knowing that Jim died 12 days later, and he thought that it was just a sore throat that would go away.

  • It's very sad that Jim Henson died 11 days after this interview :(

  • RAVEN SAMONE!

  • He would still be pretty young if he was still around wouldn't he?

  • is that kid singing with kermit Raven?

  • Who did Arsenio ask Kermit if he had seen backstage? I couldn't make that out

  • Jim Henson's voice is Kermit.

  • Jim Henson is my idol

  • R.I.P Jim Henson. Of course, all puppeteers are not ventriloquists. The mouth always moves.

  • LOL! Clifford and Elmo are voiced by the same dude. Now THAT is voice talent.

  • the 21 people that disliked this wanted to watch sesame street

  • damn! this is some good ass cheese!

  • Kermit sounds like oboma lol

  • That kid in the clip is Raven-Simone, I'm almost sure.

  • @jillevonne1981 It is her.

  • Kevin Clash is so great.

  • Was that Raven Simone? So cute :)

  • Go to the doctor, Jim! Hurry! ....*sigh*

  • i would have never guessed that was Kevin Clash doing Cliffards voice :) i love his Elmo voice better though.

  • Awww, it's Raven! :)

  • Little did the world know that after this interview that man with the green frog puppet died of strep! Thats all I'm gonna say about that.

  • i know, Jim looked like he was in great health

  • aww that little girl was Raven

  • How come Arsenio never married? Is he pimpin for life lol?

  • @HardKore5250 He doesn't believe in marriage.

  • Who voices Clifford where is the person is it a black man or white man?

  • @HardKore5250 If you watch the entire clip, you'll see it's Kevin Clash, the voice behind Elmo!

  • @Crotchrot Also, Kevin Clash portrayed Hoots the Owl and even portrayed Elliot Shag in "Dog City."

  • @HardKore5250 Black, he voiced by Kevin Clash, who also voices Elmo!

  • @HCShannon That's right!

  • @HardKore5250 Jim Henson has never claimed to be a ventriloquist, but a puppeteer. His mouth has always moved when he does Kermit during interviews.

  • What's the difference of puppeteer and ventriloquist?

  • @HardKore5250 They both operate puppets, but a puppeteer is often not seen, or when they are they move their mouth. A Ventriloquist keeps their lips still to maintain the illusion the puppet is speaking on its own.

  • @HardKore5250 , Henson was not a ventriloquist. He did hand puppetry and voices, not keep his lips still and created the illusion that he was throwing his voice. But still, you can tell that most of the time Kermit spoke, the camera was only on Kermit, although there were brief moments of Kermit and Jim on camera (that's where you saw Jim talking for Kermit). The camera was supposed to be focused on Kermit only.

    I see that someone else already answered you.

  • @HardKore5250 Jim isn't a ventriloquist. Neither is Kevin Clash/E;mo or any of the Muppet/S.Street puppeteers.

  • @HardKore5250 Jim Henson was not a ventriloquist. He was a puppeteer. There is a difference.

  • @HardKore5250 How about just the fact that Henson isn't doing Clifford, rather Kevin Clash (Hence in the description, "Nice little visit by Kevin Clash and Clifford.")

  • @HardKore5250 That's because Jim wasn't a ventriloquist, he's a puppeteer.

  • @HardKore5250 There is a distinct difference between a ventriloquist and a puppeteer. Jim Henson was NOT a ventriloquist.

  • Thanks soo much for posting. I love Jim Henson. I would have loved to have met him. Gone too soon.

  • Great! Even though he isn't a ventriloquist.. I see him talking, Kermit is still so alive!

  • THANK YOU for uploading this. I thought Clifford was a scream--and I remember him calling out Arsenio on the Madonna Hanky Panky thing! I can't believe I never knew Clifford was Kevin Clash until I saw your caption, d'oh!

  • @valsadie No problem. I've always enjoyed this clip, and it's just pure dumb luck that I found it to post. I have always been a HUGE Jim Henson fan, and watched everything I could.

  • RIP Jim Henson. We miss you.

    Btw, Arsenio was a great host.

  • WOAH, is that Raven? So she's been a Disney kid her whole life?!

  • @prodigychild1988 Thats what I was wondering too haha. I dont think she was really a Disney kids back in the day. Her childhood was mainly defined by her work on The Cosby Show.

  • @ShinhoDynasty7 I know, I was really just joking, because this was a production Mr. Henson did with Disney. I remember her from Cosby, and she had little kid songs and stuff in the 90s. I remember he well, because when I was little, everyone used to say I looked like her, and it really got annoying.

  • Clifford is a trip!

  • Haha awesome - the band play One Nation Under a Groove by Funkadelic!!

  • 19 people like Power Rangers

  • Google.

  • Hard to believe he died just several weeks later. How incredibly sad.

  • Thumbs up if you have learned more from Google than fucking school

  • @VeryeasyEnglish  U RIGHT :) 100%

  • @VeryeasyEnglish Very funny, we are all doing something similar here. We want to find a nice time in our lives away from the rubbish and now serious times of our modern world - People, we are still being connected together by simple things like the muppets let's not forget this. Thankyou veryeasyenglish for pointing out that yes, school doesn't do much for us in the long run. x

  • @laosandburma Oh and does anyone see "Raven" in the clip. She is around 4.

  • Google Doodle brought me here!

  • forget Metallica... Jim Henson is the true MASTER OF PUPPETS!

  • R.i.P Jim Henson

    Diseny have the rigth 2 The Muppets now

    it is the ture stores look it up

    i am not make it up @ all

    Happy Birth Day Mr Henson

  • What Jim Henson did wasn't puppetry...it was magic. It was real pure magic

  • happy B day Jim!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • This man was a genius. We will miss him, but his greatness will live forever.

  • Raven Symone was so cute!!! Jim Henson was brilliant. He influenced so many generations and even generations to come. Ms. Piggy was my girl!!!

  • Comment removed

  • happy birthday JIm

  • Google! :D

  • Happy birthday Jim! Thanks for the memories!

  • Whoaa... Clifford didn't last long, did he XD hahaha

  • Thumbs up if Google Doodle brought you here!

  • GOOGLE brought me here

  • AHHH MY CHILDHOOD

  • KERMIT! MRAAFADFKDJG!!! - Miss Piggy :D

  • That pause after "I've never been spanked, man," is Kevin Clash thinking, "Who the F*** has never been spanked?" LMAO

  • I love Jim Henson, such a special man. He really enjoyed just making people happy. He gave imaginations to so many children. Such a sad day when he died.

  • oooh its so nice, you can hear kermits voice in jims :)

  • "That, my friend, is a Cosby sweater.  A Cosby sw-eater!

  • is that raven symone at 1:10?

  • I remember watching this when it first aired. I had no idea at the time that Mr. Henson would pass away just a few days later. His work was a very big part of my childhood. I would loved to have met him.

  • @patluvsvettes he actually died two weeks after this aired.

  • @patluvsvettes That used to be my dream. I specifically remember wanting to work on the Muppet Show. In later seasons there was a cat with an eye patch that sat on a shelf on the wall. I always wanted to see that one in person!

  • @patluvsvettes Really, a few days later? He died of pneumonia so I thought he'd have been sick awhile.

  • "I was a sponge man. What does it look like I was doing?"

    CLASSIC.

  • Damn it, I wish Jim were still alive. He was so friggen awesome.

  • Hahaha i had no idea the voice of Elmo also does Clifford

  • raven singing with Kermit! 

  • Thanks for posting this have never seen that before huge Muppet fan have some muppets of my own as did some puppetering in the past he was the greatest

  • These are probably the last words of the REAL Kermit as well.

  • I was a sponge man, what do I look like I was doing? Lmao.

  • Thank you Jim Henson for teaching kids all over everything....

  • UN VERDADERO GENIO JIM... UNA GRAN OBRA NOS DEJO.

  • This interview was conducted just a few days before his sudden onset and death, like 3 days I think before he died.

  • @tribequest9 I found this video from reading his bio, it was 12 days, but I'm glad I'm not the only one aware that this was his last appearance on TV.

  • @tribequest9 the internet said it was 12 days before his death

  • @tribequest9 This interview aired on May 4, 1990. Henson passed away 12 days later.

  • @RetroVideoFan Thanks for that note. I had no idea of the date that it aired.

  • holy cow its Ernie! this is greatness

  • I am currently reading the screenplay "Muppet Man" about Jim Henson - which is BRILLIANT - and was so happy to find this clip, as it played an interesting part in the movie. Such a shame it'll never get made.

  • @nitejrny Why will it never get made?

  • @george4ever26101 The Henson company (son & daughter of Jim) bought the script so it couldn't get made. While they were respectful about it, claiming they appreciated the writer's vision, my guess is they feel protective of their father's legacy and worry the script might be a little too dark, and too speculative when it came to things like his relationship with their mother, Jim's ex-wife. It's a shame since the script is such a beautiful love letter to Mr. Henson. But as a son, I understand.

  • @george4ever26101 what year was this??

  • @KenFromBeara this was on May 4. 1990. Henson would die less than two weeks later on May 16, 1990.

  • According to wikipedia, in this interview, jim henson is already suffering from the flu like symptoms that'll develop into pneumonia

  • of the people who have took over doing kermit's voice who has done the best job of coming close to jim henson's version

  • @Jamescs007 That's a brilliant question. Early muppeteers that voiced him didn't do a great job, but I think recently the life has been coming back. As someone who literally grew up with all of the original voices, it's sometimes difficult to hear the current incarnations, but the humor and the spirit are there, so that helps.

  • @Jamescs007 Only one man has done the voice of Kermit after Henson. Steve Whitmere mimics him perfectly, as well as playing Rizzo

  • @Jamescs007 his son, Brian Henson, does Kermit's voice now, and he's gotten much better at it over time.

  • @rofflemows2 Uhh, no. Brian Henson does not perform of voice Kermit, nor has he ever. In fact after Jim Henson died only ONE man took over the character and has been performing kermit ever since. Steve Whitmire is the only man who has played kermit since Jim's death. Steve also does Rizzo the Rat, Wembley Fraggle and others.

  • @WiiFolderJosh Ernie too

  • @WiiFolderJosh That's right!

  • Jim Henson = Legend!

  • sooo cool jim hensons is an icon ... muppets forever 

  • soooo cool he is an icon

  • why is this guy dead when justin bieber is still alive

  • @TheRokkiephantomlove Justin Bieber hadn't even been thought up yet when he died.

  • organ failure

  • The good die young .

  • so sad to watch

  • Love the Cosby sweater.

  • @bushbasher85 well said.it doesnt matter how old you are.you dont dont see the puppets as just some piece of cloth on some guys arm or anything like that,but a real living character insted.and thats good you still see the magic of the muppets at that age.isnt this jim henson's LAST tv appearance or just one of them?

  • Im 26 years old, I should know better than this. But to me Kermit is not a puppet, he is real. Kermit, and all the other muppets and Sesame Street characters are the embodiment of something greater. They made us laugh, they even made us cry at times. We learned to count, read, speak and love life because of them. I feel so sorry for the youth of today. Spongebob will never have the dignity of Kermit, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, or Grover. Thank you Jim Henson, for everything.

  • @bushbasher85 you need help

  • @bushbasher85 I'm 29. I grew up with the muppets. I still remember when I found out 'Kermit' died. To this day, I still get emotional knowing my childhood hero is gone. Jim Henson brought so much joy to my life.

    However, I love Spongebob too. Saying it lacks dignity is a bit like what people said about things like the Muppets when compared to more wholesome cartoons of the past, like Mickey Mouse. You may not understand the youth of today, but the Muppets /were/ the Spongebob of yesterday.

  • I think that's what Jim was about. Creating something funny. He was human. He didn't make a point to be dignified or even better than anyone else- it was to be funny, and make others laugh in the process. In time, the other stuff came with it. But fundamentally, it was just plain funny. And that's what I love the most about the Muppets. And a lot of creators today are just trying to do the same thing. And you know, there's nothing wrong with that.

  • @bushbasher85 I'm 35 and like you I grew up with these legendary characters. From the Muppet Show to Sesame Street. Nothing was like them and nothing will ever be. Jim gave the world something so special that 100 years from now people will still talk about it. There is nothing quality about TV today, but man in the late 70s and the 80s man was that a time to live. We've given back to Jim and will continue each time we watch his characters. You hit it right on the head! THANK YOU JIM!

  • @bushbasher85 I'm 14, I've grown up watching shows like The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, Gilligan's Island, Power Rangers, Red Dwarf, and it saddens me when people don't know what I'm talking about. :(

  • @bushbasher85 They have heart ,soul and personality,Jim Henson was an amazing man,God bless and keep you Jim ,they world was a better place for having had you in it,his creations were real to generations,very well put

  • @bushbasher85 omg i was so curious about who made Elmo and one day i went on you tube and found who did Elmo ( the voice) and now i wish i didn't cuz to me Elmo is real i wish i could erase it from my mind. and i am 18 i feel so embarrassed lol

  • @bushbasher85

    Excellent post! I'm almost 20 years older than you, but couldn't have said it any better. I grew up with Sesame Street back in the 70's and still remember the lessons it taught me.

  • @bushbasher85 why should you know better? age doesn't matter if it comes to something people grew up with and is a part of their lives,

    btw Spongebob is meant for comedy, Sesame Street was a show that would teach kids. other then what you said about feeling sorry for the youth today i agree with you on everything in your comment.

  • @bushbasher85

    I'm also 26, and I was a Muppet fan. The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, Alf, MuppeTelevision and The Muppet Babies. Thanks to The Muppet Babies, I also became a fan of Pee-Wee Herman since Pee-Wee's Playhouse aired right after Muppet Babies on CBS from 1986 to 1991. Well, on my local CBS station. Kermit, Fozzie, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Big Bird, Grover, Ernie, Burt, Cookie Monster, Pee-Wee, Pterri, Chairy, Jambi the Genie, were much more fun then Sponge Bob, by far.

  • @bushbasher85 I think tons of adults can agree with you on that one.

  • @bushbasher85 you can't compare a show meant as a comedy to a show made for educational purposes. but i do agree. Spongebob will be GREAT int eh future hes a legend now but Sesame Street,PLAZA SESAMO(SESAME STREET SPANISH) and the muppets films are already awesome but the muppets arent really greats yet. there legends. sesame street is a GREAT. Kermit is a GREAT. elmo is a GREAT but all the small characters arent

  • Jim Henson has his hand up Kermit's Green Ass,nowonder Kermit has such a High pitched voice! lol.

  • Clifford is like the most awesomeness Muppet ever. If you look close enough, you can see Kevin's head.

  • 5:00 This was only six months before the Milli Vanilli scandal broke.

  • He died because his Doctor didnt give him Antibiotics

    Henson began to experience flu-like symptoms.[4] On May 4, 1990, Henson made an appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show.

    On May 12, 1990, Henson traveled to Ahoskie, North Carolina, with his daughter Cheryl to visit his father and stepmother. The next day, feeling tired and ill, he consulted a physician in North Carolina, who could find no evidence of pneumonia by physical examination and prescribed no treatment except aspirin.

  • a clip of this was in "Being Elmo" the documentary of him and Kevin Clash....OMG i have never been w/ an audience that laughed AND cried so much (including myself)...such a tearjerker that has the power to make you believe magic is real.

    the weird this is, the entire movie is full of happiness, but it is seriously so beautiful that its sad. so hard to explain, but it is probably one of the most heartwarming documentaries ill ever see.

  • 19 people where touched inappropriately as a child.

  • Clifford was funny as!

  • those 19 ppl u have no heart, Jim cared for children and wanted to entertain them. and that he did

  • Jim Henson did so much for children and the entertainment world. Thank you for posting this video.

  • The people that "disliked" this clip have no soul.

  • How did he die again?

  • thank you so much for finding this and posting it

  • Thank you for posting this. I wanted to see how he looked just weeks before passing and he looks surprisingly good. Shocked he wouldn't be around long after this. Miss his talent.

  • @silvereagle2061 i don't know, he looked kinda pale and skinny, plus he was complaining of a sore throat when this interview occurred.

  • This man is a genius!  Thank goodness he followed his passion and shared his authentic self with the world! R.I.P.

  • It's so hard to believe he died 12 days after this show. Life is so short. I still miss Jim Henson. I grew up with the muppets.

  • is that Raven Simone?

  • @juliabohemian

    Yeah, that's her. Not sure if this was post-Cosby or not.

  • It's funny how his regular voice is only a deeper version of Kermit. Or I suppose the right thing to say is Kermit's voice is a higher pitch version of Jim's voice. lol

  • I think he actually had the bacteria infection that killed him when he was on this show. He was complaining about having the flu but he did the show anyway. You can tell the dude is ill, he looks like he is in his 70s and he's only 53

  • It's ironic that as soon as Jim died, the Disney folks practically took ALL the muppet properties under their control.