Frank Oz facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Frank Oz
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

Filmmaking credits

Director

Producer

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

Executive producer

• The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
• Muppet Treasure Island (1996)

Television

As director

Video games

Awards and nominations

Oz receiving a Saturn Award

Images for kids

• 

  Oz in 1984

See also

In Spanish: Frank Oz para niños