Jim Henson Gave The Harvard Lampoon A Prop From “The Dark Crystal” | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend

so I had this great treat yesterday. which is I'm told I get to see an. advanced copy of idea man uh which is a. Jim Hensen idea man and I have a lot. emotionally invested in this film. because I have my own Jim Henson. connection and I watch the film and it's. fantastic it's a very it's a fantastic. documentary there are so many things I. learned about Jim Henson that I did not. know Jim Henson I didn't realize.

his background growing up uh in this uh. Christian Science Christian his mom's a. Christian Scientist his mom's a a. Christian Science scientist and and he. wasn't formally because he right wasn't. all that religious but of course you. know he he was raised in in in you know. in that environment um but uh you know. he was creative he was he was he was. smart and he wanted to express himself. you know and his dad was a bit of a. scientist like agricultural um scientist.

um and so they would travel around to. different parts of the country a lot of. it in the South and uh but Jim you know. was looking for that kind of that kind. of breakthrough but he it was a moment. of transformation and um and he sees. that opportunity but it's interesting. that he grabbed he wound up grabbing you. know an ancient art form yes and. elevating it when I was a kid sitting. around we were talking about The Andy. Griffith Show a lot of the character. actors who would come on that show would. be bitching and moaning because because. radio was dead yeah or Vaudeville had.

gone and yet we all know that not those. mediums didn't vanish uh you know there. there isn't a Vaudeville circuit per se. but there's standup there's C toay there. you know I mean there it it's the the. the art forms are as as as relevant as. ever uh and uh and I think you're so. right Conan I mean I just think creative. people figure out a way they find a way. and what's fascinating to me is so Jim. Henson uh is very interested in puppets.

puppeteering uh and one of the things. that he wants to do early on is and I. haven't thought of this before but it's. in the your documentary a lot of uh. puppeteering was. done um just in kind of a wide shot. where you see with the theater with the. with curtains prum and little curtains. and the characters are all bashing each. other and things are happening um I. don't know if it's Jim Hensen or his. wife Jane. but they understand that.

the camera has to be right up the TV. camera has to be right up against the. puppets right Muppets and that so that. you can see their expressions and you. can see a character deflate and what's. really fascinating to me is you're look. you know you have access in the. documentary to all that early. footage it's long before it's very. sophisticated right it's basically. Kermit but they don't know it's Kermit. yet right right but the kind of the. puckering of the mouth when there's a. little bit of uncertain and the looking.

to the side and then the maybe looking. back at the camera all that stuff is. there and it's uh in closeup and they're. looking at a basically looks like a. kinoscope like the the technology is. very crude right but you can see oh my. God thisy they looking at the Monitor. and sort of seeing well where is the. camera and where do I fit in and and uh. um but the timing on this stuff was just. fantastic we interviewed Frank Oz who. you know gave the the the family was. great they made the archives available.

but also they made themselves available. in a really in a really significant way. and they're look they're storytellers. themselves and so they you know they. they they recognized the need to share. what they understood about their parents. you know in a in a dimensional way and. and and so that was incredibly valuable. but Frank was there side by side and you. know I I he he gave so much to the movie. through his interview in fact. stylistically you know I tried to sort. of Channel Jim H.

that aesthetic a lot of stop motion a. lot of very cutting. and some animations and things like that. and the idea sort of stemmed first from. me watching a lot of Jim's experimental. movies that had nothing to do with. puppets which I didn't know about by the. way yeah me neither and they're cool you. know and and and in fact they anticipate. a lot of what you're going to eventually. see in commercials or even music videos. right um uh you know I mean they were. kind of hard days night and stuff like.

that you know so Frank we did the. interview and I just had this idea we. did it in a cube because one of his. experimental TV show shows was called. the cube and it's like a human being. trapped sort of just with himself and. his ideas and thoughts so we decided to. have the interview subjects be in a cube. it also would allow us to use those. cubes they're almost like television. tests to keep putting a lot of visual. imagery in in there and keep telling. this this story of of of Jim and the. Muppets but we did Frank's interview.

it was very moving very informative very. funny uh and I said uh you know Frank. what if we did like what if your. entrance into the set we were going to. have you just come and sit down but what. if we did it stop motion and he of. course instantly knew what to do so we. put the camera up high we had a chair. kind of squiggle in come in and stop and. he went in perfectly one take laid out. all the steps and all the Beats so that. we could do it and it just established. immediately for the editor editors and. myself that you know we we were going to. we were going to inform this movie with. this kind of aesthetic well also you.

were having fun yes so you're making a. documentary about this great artistic. genius and his work and but you're also. making sure that you're leaving room for. fun which is the essence of Jim Hensen. yes and uh you know my connection to it. was that uh my whole reason I'm in. comedy is I was always interested in. comedy and doing it for my friends and. then I decide I need to be serious so I. go to a serious College which turns out. to to have this very old Humor Magazine.

in it uh as part of it the lamp the. Harvard Lampoon I get on the Lampoon and. immed almost immediately the person. who's put in charge of it the first. woman to ever be put in charge of it is. Lisa Henson oh and so um then she's my. boss I'm working for uh Lisa Henson and. then every now and then Jim Henson's. around and I'm losing my mind he could. not have been a sweeter nicer. man and uh in fact Lisa graduates I take.

over the Lampoon and at one point Jim. Henson calls me and says hey we just. finished the Dark Crystal and we have. these Thrones that the creatures sit on. in the Dark Crystal do you guys want one. for your Lampoon. building and you've never heard me say. yes to anything more. quickly and so I said yes how do I make. this happen cuz I'm I'm I'm just still a. kid I'm like 19 and I'm going yes Mr.

so what do I and he said and it's funny. cuz when you're talking to Jim Henson. you're talking to Kermit Kermit kind of. yeah so Kermit's on the other the line. saying well you know just get a ban and. come on down to New York and pick it up. you idiot I'm like okay Kermit Henson. bye so I hang up the phone we rent a van. and my friend Mark gam and uh and and uh. Maya Williams we jump in this van and we. drive down to Manhattan and I'm. petrified cuz I'm like where driving to.

man suddenly it's like a Muppet movie. yeah and I'm kind of a muppet and I'm. going what's happening and we get day. yeah exactly I'm Beaker and we get there. and sure enough there's like snuff lopus. is hanging from the ceiling and they say. oh yeah here's the chair it's made of uh. it's not that heavy because it's made of. this super light material we we carry it. like a. jewel we put it in the back of sat in. one of those chairs at their you know at. the studio yeah and I I drove it all the. way back to Cambridge and we put it in.

the Lampoon building so cut to I don't. know like maybe nine months ago I'm in. Cambridge and a student comes up to me. says hey by the way uh Conan I'm I'm on. the Lampoon do you want to come by and I. went yeah sure I haven't been there in a. long time so I go by and there's the. chair little banged up yeah yeah cuz. they drank uh I mean the puppets drank. yeah it was that way when we got it um.