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Frank Oz
Frank Oz 2012.jpg
Oz at the 38th Annual Saturn Awards 2012
Born
Frank Richard Oznowicz

(1944-05-25) May 25, 1944 (age 81)
Hereford, Herefordshire, England, UK
Citizenship United States
Alma mater Oakland City College
Occupation
  • Puppeteer
  • filmmaker
  • actor
Years active 1961–present
Spouse(s)
Robin Garsen
(m. 1979; div. 2005)
Victoria Labalme
(m. 2011)
Children 4

Frank Oz (born Frank Richard Oznowicz; May 25, 1944) is an American puppeteer, filmmaker, and actor. He is famous for working with Jim Henson on The Muppets and Sesame Street. He also worked with George Lucas on Star Wars.

Frank Oz brought many beloved characters to life. He also directed many popular movies and worked as an actor.

Early life and first steps

Frank Oz was born in Hereford, England, on May 25, 1944. His parents were both puppeteers. They moved to the United States when he was young. The family settled in Oakland, California.

As a teenager, Oz worked as an apprentice puppeteer. He learned a lot about making puppets move and seem alive. He worked at Children's Fairyland in Oakland. This experience helped him meet Jim Henson later.

Amazing career as a performer

Frank Oz joined Jim Henson's team in New York in 1963. He was 19 years old. He became a key part of The Muppet Show and Sesame Street.

Bringing Muppets to life

Oz performed many famous Muppet characters. These include Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle from The Muppet Show. On Sesame Street, he was Cookie Monster, Bert, and Grover.

He worked closely with Jim Henson. They often performed characters together. For example, Henson did the voice and head of The Swedish Chef, while Oz operated the hands. Oz performed in over 75 productions. This includes movies like Labyrinth. He continued performing his Muppet characters until 2001. After that, other puppeteers took over most of his roles.

Oz decided to focus on directing films. He wanted to create his own stories. He enjoyed making characters and scenes come alive.

Becoming Yoda

Frank Oz is also well-known as the performer of Jedi Master Yoda from Star Wars. Jim Henson suggested Oz for the role. Oz performed the puppet and provided Yoda's voice. He did this in The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983).

He also voiced the computer-generated (CGI) Yoda in later films. These include Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005). In Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), they used a puppet again. Oz returned to perform Yoda for this film. He also voiced Yoda in theme park rides and the Star Wars Rebels TV show.

In 2017, Oz directed a documentary. It was called Muppet Guys Talking: Secrets Behind the Show the Whole World Watched. It featured Muppet performers sharing their experiences.

Directing fantastic films

Frank Oz started directing films with Jim Henson. Their first movie together was the fantasy film The Dark Crystal (1982). This movie used very advanced puppets. Oz also co-directed The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984). He also helped write the script for that film.

First films without puppets

In 1986, Oz directed his first film without Henson. It was Little Shop of Horrors. This musical movie starred Rick Moranis and Ellen Greene. It also featured a giant talking plant. This plant needed up to 60 puppeteers to operate! This film showed Oz could work with live actors.

He then directed many popular comedies. These include Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) with Steve Martin and Michael Caine. He also directed What About Bob? (1991) starring Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss. Other films he directed are The Indian in the Cupboard (1995), In & Out (1997), and Bowfinger (1999). He also directed the original Death at a Funeral (2007).

In 2016, Oz directed a stage show called In & Of Itself. It was a one-man show starring Derek DelGaudio. It was very successful and later became a streaming special.

Acting roles

Besides puppeteering and directing, Frank Oz has acted in films. He had small roles in several John Landis movies. These include The Blues Brothers (1980) and Trading Places (1983).

He also did voice acting in animated films. He was Fungus in Monsters, Inc. (2001). He voiced the Robot in Zathura (2005). More recently, he played a lawyer in the movie Knives Out (2019). He also had small appearances in Muppet movies where he wasn't puppeteering.

Personal life

Frank Oz has four children. He lives in Manhattan, New York.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1979 The Muppet Movie Fozzie Bear
Miss Piggy
Sam Eagle
Animal
Marvin Suggs
Additional characters
Puppeteer/Voice,
Also creative consultant
1980 The Blues Brothers Corrections officer Also voice of Elwood's building manager
The Empire Strikes Back Yoda Puppeteer/Voice
1981 The Great Muppet Caper Fozzie Bear
Miss Piggy
Sam Eagle
Animal
Additional characters
An American Werewolf in London Mr. Collins
1982 The Dark Crystal Aughra
Chamberlain
Puppeteer
1983 Superman III Surgeon Deleted scene
Return of the Jedi Yoda Puppeteer/Voice
Trading Places Booking cop
1984 The Muppets Take Manhattan Fozzie Bear
Miss Piggy
Sam Eagle
Animal
Bert
Cookie Monster
Ocean Breeze Board member
Additional characters
Puppeteer/Voice
1985 Spies Like Us Test proctor
Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird Cookie Monster
Bert
Grover
Puppeteer/Voice
1986 Labyrinth The Wiseman
1991 Muppet*Vision 3D Miss Piggy
Fozzie Bear
Sam Eagle
Additional characters
Puppeteer/Voice,
Theme park attraction
1992 Innocent Blood Pathologist
The Muppet Christmas Carol Fozzie Bear
Miss Piggy
Sam Eagle
Animal
Additional characters
Puppeteer/Voice
1996 Muppet Treasure Island Voice
1998 Blues Brothers 2000 Warden
1999 Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace Yoda Puppeteer/Voice
Muppets from Space Fozzie Bear
Miss Piggy
Sam Eagle
Animal
Additional characters
Voice
The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland Bert
Grover
Cookie Monster
Puppeteer/Voice
2001 Monsters, Inc. Jeff Fungus Voice
2002 Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones Yoda
2005 Zathura Robot
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith Yoda
2011 Star Tours–The Adventures Continue Voice,
Theme park attraction
Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey Himself Documentary
2014 I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story
2015 Inside Out Subconscious Guard Dave Voice
Star Wars: The Force Awakens Yoda Voice (archive recording)
2017 Muppet Guys Talking: Secrets Behind
the Show the Whole World Watched
Himself Documentary
Star Wars: The Last Jedi Yoda Puppeteer/Voice
2019 Knives Out Alan Stevens
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Yoda Voice only
2021 Echoes of Violence Dante
2024 Inside Out 2 Mind Cop Dave Voice

Filmmaking credits

Director

Year Title Notes
1982 The Dark Crystal Co-directed with Jim Henson
1984 The Muppets Take Manhattan Also writer
1986 Little Shop of Horrors ADR Voice
1988 Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
1991 What About Bob?
1992 Housesitter
1995 The Indian in the Cupboard
1997 In & Out
1999 Bowfinger
2001 The Score
2004 The Stepford Wives
2007 Death at a Funeral
2017 Muppet Guys Talking: Secrets Behind
the Show the Whole World Watched
Documentary
2020 Derek DelGaudio's In & Of Itself

Producer

  • The Great Muppet Caper (1981)
  • Muppet Guys Talking: Secrets Behind the Show the Whole World Watched (2017)

Executive producer

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1969–2013 Sesame Street Bert
Grover
Cookie Monster
Lefty the Salesman
Harvey Kneeslapper
Additional characters
Puppeteer/Voice,
Regularly until 2001, however, he continued to perform his
characters a few times a year until 2013.
1975–1976 Saturday Night Live The Mighty Favog Puppeteer/Voice The Land of Gorch segments
1976–1981 The Muppet Show Fozzie Bear
Miss Piggy
Sam Eagle
Animal
Marvin Suggs
George the Janitor
Additional characters
Puppeteer/Voice
1977 Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas Alice Otter (puppetry)
Chuck Stoat (puppetry and voice)
Puppeteer/Voice,
Television film
1989 The Jim Henson Hour Miss Piggy
Fozzie Bear
Puppeteer/Voice
1990 The Muppets at Walt Disney World Miss Piggy
Fozzie Bear
Animal
1994 Jim Henson's Animal Show Sam Eagle Voice,
Episode: "Bald Eagle"
1996–1998 Muppets Tonight Miss Piggy
Fozzie Bear
Sam Eagle
Animal
Additional characters
Puppeteer/Voice
1999 CinderElmo Bert
Grover
Cookie Monster
Voice,
Television film
2015–2016 Star Wars Rebels Yoda Voice,
2 episodes
2022–2023 StoryBots: Answer Time Dink Voice,
5 episodes

As director

Year Title Notes
2002 The Funkhousers Television film
2011 Leverage Episode: "The Carnival Job"

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
1996 Muppet Treasure Island Miss Piggy
Fozzie Bear
Sam Eagle
Voice
The Muppet CDROM: Muppets Inside Miss Piggy
Fozzie Bear
Animal
Sam Eagle
Marvin Suggs
2000 Muppet Monster Adventure Miss Piggy
Fozzie Bear
Muppet RaceMania Miss Piggy
Fozzie Bear
Sam Eagle
Animal
2020 Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge Yoda
2021 Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge – Last Call

Awards and nominations

38th Annual Saturn Awards - Frank Oz (14178528703)
Oz receiving a Saturn Award
Year Award Category Nominated work Result
1974 News & Documentary Emmy Award Outstanding Individual Achievement in Children's Programming Sesame Street Won
1976 Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Children's Programming Won
Grammy Award Best Recording for Children Merry Christmas from Sesame Street Nominated
1977 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music Series The Muppet Show Nominated
1978 Outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music Series Won
1979 Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Individual Achievement in Children's Programming Sesame Street Won
Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music Program The Muppet Show Nominated
1979 Grammy Award Best Recording for Children The Muppet Show Album Won
1980 The Muppet Movie: Original Soundtrack Recording Won
1980 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Program The Muppet Show Nominated
1981 Nominated
1983 Hugo Award Best Dramatic Presentation The Dark Crystal Nominated
1987 Little Shop of Horrors Nominated
1998 American Comedy Awards Creative Achievement Award Won
2002 ADG Excellence in Production Design Awards Contribution to Cinematic Imagery Award Won
2003 Critics' Choice Movie Awards Best Digital Acting Performance Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones Nominated
2012 Saturn Awards Life Career Award Won
2024 Disney Legends Outstanding Film and Television Contributions to The Walt Disney Company Won

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Frank Oz para niños

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