David Lazer, executive who joined the World of Muppets, dies at 89

David Lazer of the Jim Henson Company, left, with Jim Henson, the producer Frank Oz and several Muppets in 1981. “What David brought to the company was class,” said Brian Henson, Mr. Henson’s son. (Photo credit: Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection)

David Lazer, who as an IBM executive in the mid-1960s hired Jim Henson’s Muppets to star in a series of short films that injected laughs into sales meetings — and who a decade later joined Mr. Henson’s company as a producer — died on April 10 at his home in Vero Beach, Florida. He was 89.

His death, which had not been widely reported, was confirmed by Doyle Newberry, a manager of Mr. Lazer’s estate. He did not cite a cause.

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