Henson Company Masquerade Balls

MaskedBallinvite 1984 — Second annual ball invitation, 1984.

Henson-masquerade — Joanne Barkan and Jon Friedman as beech trees, with Lauren Attinello and Dan Chneider as "Surf and Turf" in lower insert, and Bruce Morozco with a two-faced mask in upper insert.

The Henson Company Masquerade Balls began in 1983 in New York City as a way for Jim Henson to celebrate the creativity of the company on all levels. The balls were held for four years, with the final two held at the Waldorf-Astoria. The events were open to all staff, from accounting to the building staff, with many attendees wearing elaborate costumes.

In the Picture-in-Picture commentary on the Labyrinth Blu-ray, Cheryl Henson cites the company balls as inspiration for the Masquerade Ball sequence in Labyrinth. In the same featurette, Kevin Clash recounts a prank Steve Whitmire and Richard Hunt pulled on Jim Henson, in which Whitmire came dressed as an aspiring writer, concealing his identity from the guests of the party.

Wendy Froud explained on her blog that some of the masks used in Labyrinth got their first test run at a Henson ball the spring before the movie was shot in the UK.^[1]

Jim Henson Masked Ball on E'ment Tonight Feb 16 1985

References[]

In the Muppet Babies storybook Baby Piggy's Night at the Ball, the balls are spoofed, with an illustration by Lauren Attinello of publishing's Joanne Barkan as a beech tree shown with Attinello herself as a lobster.