The Muppets were created by puppeteer Jim Henson in the 1950s; among his earliest creations was Kermit the Frog, who would become Henson’s most recognizable character. Originally conceived for an adult audience, Henson claimed, and later recanted, that he coined the term “Muppet” as a portmanteau of the words “marionette” and “puppet”. In 1955, the Muppets were introduced in Sam and Friends, a short-form television series produced for WRC-TV in Washington D. C. Developed by Henson and his future wife Jane Nebel, the series was the first form of puppet media not to incorporate a physical proscenium arch typical of such works, relying instead on the natural framing of the television set through which it was viewed.