`Muppets` co-creator Jane Henson dies at 78

London: Jane Henson, co-creator of ‘Muppets’ died at her Connecticut home following a battle with cancer on Tuesday. She was 78. The Jim Henson Co, owned by the Hensons’ five children, said in a statement that Jane had been paralysed since March 20 and was an “integral creative and business partner” in the ‘Muppets.’ Jane, born in Queens, New York, in 1934, was an early puppeteer, as well as puppet designer for the ‘Muppets,’ the Telegraph reported. She and Jim met in a University of Maryland puppetry class in the mid-1950s, and the duo went on to create together the five-minute TV program ‘Sam and Friends,’ a precursor to the Muppets. The program served as a lead-in to ‘The Huntley-Brinkley Report’ news show and ‘The Tonight Show Starring Steve Allen’ on a Washington, DC, NBC affiliate. Although Jane stopped working as a puppeteer in the early 1960s, she was still responsible for recruiting top talent and performing on occasion on the children’s show ‘Sesame Street.’ A memorial mass is to be held for Jane next week. ANI