Guy Gilchrist, the talented artist whom I have followed since his memorable run on the comic strip Nancy a few years back, left a message via Facebook Live the other day about the time he was the guest of honor at the White House Easter egg hunt 40 years ago.
Gilchrist was the artist for the Muppets newspaper comic strip at the time, and he created the artwork for that year’s Muppets-themed Easter event at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. The Reagans called Jim Henson and invited him to be the guest of honor.
“Oh, no, Guy did that,” Henson replied. “You need to invite Guy.”
That was the kind of person Jim Henson was, said Gilchrist — if the spotlight was pointed in his direction, Henson didn’t hesitate to make sure it shone on the colleague who really deserved it. Not everyone invited to the White House would turn down the honor and deflect attention from himself.
They say true leaders don’t care who gets the credit for their good work. In this case Henson cared that the person who actually did the work got the credit, and that’s the mark of a true leader, too.
The world could use a lot more Jim Hensons.
