The man who played ogre Sweetums for more than 25 years had a heart attack on Friday
John Henson, the son of Muppets creator Jim Henson, died on Friday. He was 48.
According to a statement on the Jim Henson Company’s Facebook page, Henson died of a sudden heart attack.
Henson was a puppeteer and performer for the Muppets, playing ogre Sweetums from the late 1980′s until 2005, including in the Muppets movies. He was also a company shareholder and board member.
Henson is survived by his two daughters, Katrina, 15, and Sydney, 10, and his wife Gyongyi. A private service is being planned. Henson’s father Jim, the famous man behind the Muppets, died in May 1990 at age 53 from an abscesses in his lungs.
The new Muppets film, “Muppets Most Wanted,” opens on March 21. The puppets appeared recently in a series of Super Bowl commercials – co-starring with “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” star Terry Crews — for the Toyota Highlander.