An idea man behind ‘Idea Man’

Local producer worked on Henson documentary

By Othello St. John | Manor Ink

What do the Manor and Muppets have in common? Well, for one thing, film producer Christopher St. John. St. John made the move to Livingston Manor about a year and a half ago, and one of his recent films is “Jim Henson Idea Man.” Henson was, among other things, the creator of the puppets seen on “Sesame Street,” the long-running PBS TV show.

The documentary, which won an Emmy last fall, is out now on Disney+ and is about the life of Jim Henson and many his projects. Now, most readers have probably heard of Henson. But for people who have not, here is a quick overview.

Jim Henson, born on Sept. 24, 1936, was a puppeteer and stop-motion animator (stop-motion is a way of animating objects using still pictures) who created many shows and movies, including “Labyrinth,” “The Muppet Show,” “Dark Crystal” and others. At the time of his death in 1990, Henson was probably the most widely known puppeteer in history, and he remains so today.

When Manor Ink asked St. John about “Jim Henson Idea Man,” he described some of the techniques of the documentary filmmaking process. The set they filmed on was a “white box,” a space that could be projected upon while allowing the filmmakers to move things around easily. One of Henson’s main collaborators, Frank Oz, was interviewed using this set.

“Most people know Oz as Miss Piggy from the Muppets, or as Burt from ‘Sesame Street,’ or many, many other puppets,” said St. John. “But probably his most famous creation was Yoda from ‘Star Wars’. Oz was Yoda – he is the puppet, and he does the voice, and you can hear it when he talks in the interview. He doesn’t talk like Yoda, but it’s a little familiar, and he gave a really good interview. He was one of Jim’s closest friends – they were like brothers, and they worked together on a ton of stuff.”

St. John also had things to say about other film projects he has been working on or has finished. One is a series about British Prime Minister Winston Churchill titled “Churchill’s War,” which is currently on Netflix. Another is “Light & Magic,” a documentary on Disney+ about Lucasfilm and the making of the “Star Wars” series. A third is a National Geographic series featuring magician David Blaine that will come out this spring.

St. John has worked in documentary film in New York City for nearly 20 years. He now works remotely from Livingston Manor, but his business is based primarily in New York and Los Angeles. He and his family moved to the area because he’d spent time in the Catskills in past years.

“After college, I ended up in New York City, where I lived for almost 20 years, and I left there just about a year ago to move up to Livingston Manor. I had spent quite a while here visiting and taking care of the home of some elderly friends for the past six or seven years, and got to know the area. My wife Gwen and I, and our two sons, Otto and Solomon, made the leap and moved from the city up here, and we couldn’t be happier.

Manor Ink reporter Othello St. John is also the son of Christopher St. John.