Jim Henson and Kermit The Frog
Jim Henson (b. September 24, 1936 in Greenville Mississippi - d. May 16, 1990 in New York City, New York) is the founder of advanced television puppetry. When he created The Muppets, it brought the art of puppetry to a new level. The Muppet Show was the first television puppet program aimed at adults. In 1982, Jim and his crew made puppets made out of latex and electronics for the movie The Dark Crystal.
Around 1983, Roger Law and Peter Fluck went to a television puppetry class that Jim was teaching. One of the things that Jim pointed out that scared Roger and Peter was "to never make human puppets because it would cause disbelieve by the audience."
Roger & Peter later met Jim after the class asking either if he wanted to be a part of Spitting Image or if they can rent one of his workshops. Jim wasn't interested and he said that he was busy with his fantasy projects like Labyrinth.
Many people involved with Henson, such as Louise Gold, Anthony Asbury, Martin P. Robinson, and many others were involved with Spitting Image.