Frank Oz
Frank Oz (born Frank Richard Oznowicz;[2] May 25, 1944) is an American puppeteer, filmmaker and actor. He is best known for his involvement with Jim Henson and George Lucas through the Muppets, Sesame Street, and Star Wars, as well as his directorial work in feature films and theater.
Frank Oz
United States[1]
- Puppeteer
- filmmaker
- actor
1961–present
4
During his adolescence, Oz worked as an apprentice puppeteer in Oakland, California. Despite his interest in journalism, Oz continued his career as a puppeteer when he was hired by Jim Henson in 1963 to work for The Jim Henson Company where he went on to perform several characters in multiple television series and specials. Oz performed the Muppet characters of Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle on The Muppet Show (1976–1981), and Cookie Monster, Bert, and Grover on Sesame Street (1969–2013).[3] He was hired by George Lucas and began performing the character of Yoda in the Star Wars series, beginning with The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and reprising the role in six subsequent films and various media for the next forty years, including into the Disney era.
His work as a director includes The Dark Crystal (1982), The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988), What About Bob? (1991), In & Out (1997), Death at a Funeral (2007), and an episode of the US television series Leverage (2011).
Early life[edit]
Oz was born on May 25, 1944, in Hereford, Herefordshire, England; the son of Frances (née Ghevaert; 1910–1989) and Isadore Oznowicz (1916–1998), both of whom were puppeteers.[4] Some of their puppets survived the war and were presented at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco.[5] His father was also a window trimmer.[6][7] His parents moved to England where the father joined the Dutch Brigades. Oz's Dutch-Polish father was Jewish, and his Flemish mother was a Catholic.[8][9][10][11] They left England when he was six months old and lived in Belgium until he was five.[12][13] Oz and his family moved to Montana in 1951.[7] They eventually settled in Oakland, California.[6] Oz attended Oakland Technical High School and Oakland City College. He worked as an apprentice puppeteer at Children's Fairyland as a teenager[14] with the Vagabond Puppets, a production of the Oakland Recreation Department, where Lettie Connell was his mentor.[15]
Career[edit]
Performing[edit]
Oz performed as a puppeteer with Jim Henson’s Muppets.[16] As a teenager, he worked with the Vagabond Puppets at the Children's Fairyland of Oakland, which is how he first met Henson.[17][18] He was 19 when he joined Henson in New York to work on the Muppets in 1963.[19] His characters have included Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle on The Muppet Show, and Cookie Monster, Bert and Grover on Sesame Street.[20]
In addition to performing a variety of characters, Oz was one of the primary collaborators responsible for the development of the Muppets, known most notably for his chemistry with Jim Henson himself, performing in such pairings as: Ernie and Bert; Cookie Monster and Kermit the Frog; Kermit and Miss Piggy; Kermit and Fozzie Bear; Kermit and Grover; Ernie and Cookie Monster; Rowlf the Dog and Fozzie Bear; Rowlf and Miss Piggy, and The Swedish Chef (Henson performed the head and voice, with Oz normally operating the hands). Oz performed as a puppeteer in over 75 productions, including Labyrinth (as the Wiseman), video releases, and television specials, as well as countless other public appearances, episodes of Sesame Street, and other Jim Henson series. His puppetry work spans from 1963 to the present, although he semi-retired from performing his Muppets characters in 2001 (continuing to perform on Sesame Street on a yearly basis through 2012).[21] In 2001, his characters were taken over primarily by Eric Jacobson (with David Rudman as Cookie Monster).[22]
Oz explained why he decided on leaving the Muppets in a 2007 interview:
Personal life[edit]
Oz was married to Robin Garsen from 1979 to 2005.[6] He married his second wife Victoria Labalme, daughter of historian Patricia Hochschild Labalme, in 2011.[8][58] Oz has four children.[58] He maintained a residence in England for nine years[13] and, as of 2012, lives in Manhattan.[58]