"With Big Bird we knew we wanted to do a large, a great big character. He should represent a child so he can make the kinds of mistakes that kids make, and talk about it and be out front about that."

“I suppose that he's an alter ego. But he's a little snarkier than I am - slightly wise. Kermit says things I hold myself back from saying.”

“Jim was tall.  He was gentle.  He sounded like Kermit when he talked.  He was enthusiastic and filled with ideas.  He was also an astonishing performer.”

“No, I don't believe we've ever designed a character around a person. Usually, we start out with a kind of personality.”

“The people who worked for Jim felt like family and he treated them like family.”

“People shouldn't come expecting to see the Muppets because they are not here. This is something else.”

“Indeed, Henson understood that to truly reach another person, you must aim beyond the intellect, at the heart—at the unguarded, joyful corner of the soul known as the inner child, which, incidentally, is where Jesus was especially focused. Puppetry and humor were Henson's tools for penetrating adult defenses.”