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Case file s1927 · Hollywood and TV · 1990
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1990
Jim Henson: Jim Henson, creator, The Muppets
Jim Henson. Gotfryd, Bernard, photographer. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons.
Died
16 May 1990
Place
New York Hospital, New York · United States
Field
puppeteer and producer (the Muppets) · Film and television on the timeline
Legal tradition
US common law (New York) · Common law
Historical event
The Disney expansion of the Michael Eisner years
Religion
Jim Henson: Protestant and Anglican (recorded as Christian Science on Wikidata)
Hollywood and TVPostwarNorth AmericaUnited States

Jim Henson died during a $150 million sale to Disney, his children ended the deal and sued Disney, and the Muppets went to Disney anyway in 2004

In August 1989 Jim Henson and Disney announced on Good Morning America that Disney would buy Henson Associates for a reported $150 million. Henson died in May 1990, aged 53, before the deal closed. His five children took over the company, with Brian Henson in charge. Talks ended in December 1990. Analysts said Disney wanted a lower price for a company without Henson. Brian Henson said Disney wanted millions back. Disney said it had offered up to $50 million more to cover the heirs' taxes. In April 1991 Henson Associates sued Disney in federal court in Manhattan over the use of Muppet images in commercials, merchandise and Disney's annual report, alleging fraud. Disney countersued on 22 April, saying the heirs cared more about money than their father's legacy. The two sides settled on 30 April 1991, Disney apologized for a "serious misunderstanding," and Muppet*Vision 3D opened at Disney-MGM Studios on 16 May 1991. In February 2000 the family sold the company to the German firm EM.TV for $680 million in cash and stock. EM.TV's shares collapsed, and the family bought the company back in 2003 for $84 million. On 17 February 2004 Disney bought the Muppets and Bear in the Big Blue House; terms were not disclosed, and $75 million is a reported figure†. The Sesame Street characters had gone to Sesame Workshop. In 2026 Disney owns Kermit and Miss Piggy, and the family's Henson Company keeps Fraggle Rock and The Dark Crystal.

What the law took from it

A sale that depends on the founder's presence should be signed, or priced for his absence, before he is gone.

Sources
  1. The Seattle TimesPress
  2. www2.ljworld.comPress
  3. thewaltdisneycompany.comPress
  4. washingtontimes.comPress
  5. orlandoweekly.comPress

Cite as: celebrity.estate, “Jim Henson died during a $150 million sale to Disney, his children ended the deal and sued Disney, and the Muppets went to Disney anyway in 2004,” story s1927, https://www.celebrity.estate/jim-henson-1990, updated 30 October 2026.

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Where this case sits

Hollywood and TVPostwarNorth AmericaCommon lawUnited States