Famous Muppets showcased in new Jim Henson exhibit at Skirball Cultural Center

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Jim Henson is responsible for some of the most memorable and beloved characters in movies and television.

Now, you can see hundreds of the most famous Muppets and other characters at the "Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited" at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.

The exhibit includes items from a permanent collection at New York's Museum of the Moving Image.

Henson got his start while still a student at the University of Maryland with a late night puppet show. His daughter Lisa, who is now CEO of the Jim Henson Company, said the exhibit shows her father's personality by including all parts of his creative process.

"You actually can flip through original notes of just the germinal idea of some of these projects and then start to see the sketches and storyboards, character designs, then see the actual puppets," Lisa Henson said. "He did evolve a lot as an artist. I think this exhibit does a great job of showing the early things. I mean, there are puppets here that I haven't seen for decades."

While Henson is best known for the wholesome "Sesame Street," the exhibit also highlights some of his quirkier films.

"He was serious about being an animator and a filmmaker and all kinds of things besides just puppeteering," Lisa Henson said. "And, you know, he was the most famous puppeteer in America, and Kermit and he are kind of synonymous with each other, but he was very ambitious creatively in other ways besides puppetry."

The "Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited" is now open and runs through September 2 at the Skirball Cultural Center.