Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, May 18, 1990                   TAG: 9005180725
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-12   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

DAVIS, HENSON/ THE LOSS OF TWO SHOWMEN

Both men were superb entertainers who worked in very different ways with simple material.

Davis was a versatile showman. He sang, danced, acted, played musical instruments, performed comedy. In all the facets of his career, it was energy rather than pure talent that made him such a favorite with audiences.

Others may have had better voices or smoother steps, but no one worked harder. From vaudeville, where his career began at age 3, to the Las Vegas stage, Davis was the consummate performer - even when his personal life became hellish.

Happily, his final film, "Tap," was perhaps his finest work. Davis played an autobiographical role as an aging hoofer who hasn't lost the desire to dance - or to entertain - and who tries to pass along the joy he takes in his craft to the next generation. It was a touching and appropriate finale to a busy career.

Though Henson also worked in several media, his career was focused on one field, and was marked more by inspiration than energy.

Henson combined marionettes and puppets to come up with Muppets. From everyday materials, he created a host of memorable characters. Kermit the Frog, one of the most recognizable figures in the world today, was made from a scrap of green cloth and, for eyes, two halves of a pingpong ball.

Henson's Muppets and "Sesame Street" characters appeal to adults as well as children. Their popularity is due, at least in part, to Henson's understanding of television. His career began in the early 1950s when the medium was in its infancy. Henson realized how he could use the versatility and intimacy of television to make his creations as believable and engaging as their human counterparts.

Henson's creatures have educated a generation without ever being boring. His trademark was simplicity combined with a lively and sometimes bizarre sense of humor.

Both Sammy Davis and Jim Henson worked with the basic stuff of popular entertainment - a softshoe routine, a chicken joke. But each made the material his own, and their work did what it was supposed to do. It made people happy.