Yeah, well when I first started working, it was $5 a show; it was probably a little higher by the time I got to my own show, but I remember that they put me under contract at $100 a week, which to me was really an astronomical price.

The naturalistic lifelike Yoda became one of the most popular characters of the Star Wars franchise. From 1963 to 1966 Henson began exploring film-making and produced a series of experimental films. In 1981 a Henson-directed sequel The Great Muppet Caper followed and Henson decided to end the still-popular Muppet Show to concentrate on making films.

During this time he also contributed to Saturday Night Live. The success of Sesame Street spawned The Muppet Show which featured Muppets created by Henson. As a puppeteer Henson performed in various television programs such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper and created advanced puppets for projects like Fraggle Rock The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth.