In Their Own Words

Follow Jim Henson’s career, from his early television work with the Muppets in the 1950s to his commercial work and network appearances, his breakthrough with Sesame Street and “The Muppet Show,” his fantasy films and his sudden death in 1990.

Jim Henson grew up in rural Mississippi and had a boyhood passion for drawing and building and an admiration for ventriloquist Edgar Bergen. When Jim’s dad was reassigned from Mississippi to Maryland in 1948, 12-year old Jim became attracted to the new medium of television — kindling his desire to work in the industry.

Family members, friends and close colleagues recount the events leading up to Jim Henson’s shocking, sudden death on May 16, 1990 of organ failure resulting from streptococcal toxic shock syndrome. An emotional memorial service was held five days later at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City.

Cassius Clay’s professional boxing career begins with his signing by The Louisville Sponsoring Group. His unorthodox boxing style and the development of his bold, witty, poetic and abrasive public persona, endeared him to a younger generation of boxing fans and earned him the enmity of some established boxing writers.

Follow Muhammad Ali’s path from a gym in Louisville to boxing successes, conversion to Islam, opposition to the draft, exile from the ring, comeback fights, Parkinson’s disease and his inspirational re-emergence at the Atlanta Olympics.

Explore how Muhammad Ali’s views on religion and racial integration in 1965 were polarizing during the mid-1960s civil rights movement. In November 1965, Ali fought against former champion Floyd Patterson, who cast his bout with Ali as a social, political and religious battle.

Watch the highlights of boxing legend Muhammad Ali’s life and career, from his boyhood in Louisville, Kentucky to his stunning upset of Sonny Liston, his exile from boxing for refusing induction into the U.S. Army to his epic, triumphant comeback.

After a 3-year exile for refusing induction into the Army during the Vietnam War, Muhammad Ali’s epic boxing comeback begins with an easy victory in Atlanta, Georgia over Jerry Quarry in October of 1970, followed by a knockout of Oscar Bonavena in New York City in December, which set up the first Ali-Frazier fight.

Follow Queen Elizabeth II’s remarkable life, from her youth to her uncle’s abdication, her father’s coronation as King George VI, her experience during World War II, her sudden ascension to the throne and her eventful reign of more than 60 years.

Upon the death of her father, King George VI, in January 1952, 25-year old Elizabeth II becomes Queen. Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, are in Africa when they learn of the King’s passing and return to London for the state funeral. The coronation takes place after a period of mourning, on June 2, 1953.

Watch a brief overview of Queen Elizabeth II’s long life and reign including her royal childhood, her coming of age during World War II, her sudden accession to the throne, her personal and family challenges and the fulfillment of her vow to dedicate her entire life to the Commonwealth.

In the first years of her reign, the Queen cultivates the Commonwealth of Nations, former imperial colonies that still desire strong ties with Britain. Former British Prime Minister John Major notes that, “when the queen became monarch in 1952 the commonwealth were four, perhaps five nations, no more. The queen and the commonwealth have grown up together.”