The TLC network is making a movie about some of the 800,000 condolence letters that were sent to the widow of President John F. Kennedy after his 1963 assassination. "Letters to Jackie" will air this fall, as the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's killing approaches on Nov. 22. The film revisits the aftermath of the assassination to examine former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy's role in helping the nation through its grief as she suffered through her own. Twenty celebrities will read the letters, including Zooey Deschanel, Kirsten Dunst, Anne Hathaway, Mark Ruffalo, Betty White and Michelle Williams.
Partner in creating Muppets dies
Jane Nebel Henson knew Kermit before he was the Frog, saw the Cookie Monster before he lost his "fiendish" teeth and was around for the pre-diva days of Miss Piggy. Henson, the wife and longtime collaborator of Muppets creator Jim Henson, died Tuesday in Greenwich, Conn., after a battle with cancer, the Jim Henson Co. said. She was 78.
As the first partner to the famous Muppeteer, Henson was instrumental in the creation of the earliest characters in the brood of marionette-puppet hybrids. The initial crew of zany foam personalities included Kermit, who made his 1955 debut on the TV show "Sam and Friends" not as a frog, but as a lizard. "She was seminal to the whole creation of the Muppets," said Vincent Anthony, founder and executive director of the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta. "Her legacy is a shared vision with Jim for what puppetry can be, and a shared love of the artistry itself."
News Services
