Jim Henson and Muppets stamp pane released

(photo courtesy US Postal Service)

Jim Henson and his beloved Muppets were immortalized on United States postage stamps yesterday in Los Angeles at the Academy of the Television Arts & Sciences located in North Hollywood.

Shown above at the first day of issue ceremony on the left of Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog are Henson's children Heather, Brian and Lisa. On the right are Anita Bizzotto, CMO and Exec. VP, USPS and Dick Askin, Chairman and CEO of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences .

The pane includes a 1986 Norman Seeff photograph of Henson accompanied by his visionary quote: "When I was young, my ambition was to be one of the people who made a difference in this world. My hope is to leave the world a little bit better for my having been there."

Jim Henson died on May 16, 1990, after a brief illness, in New York City. He was 53.

For more on the first day ceremony, Henson, and the Muppets, click here.