Community hub
Recent from talks
Contribute something to knowledge base
Content stats: 0 posts, 0 articles, 1 media, 0 notes
Members stats: 0 subscribers, 0 contributors, 0 moderators, 0 supporters
Subscribers
Supporters
Contributors
Moderators
Frank Oz
Frank Richard Oznowicz (born May 25, 1944), known professionally as Frank Oz, is a British-born 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.
The son of puppeteers, Oz worked as an apprentice puppeteer during his teenage years in Oakland, California. Despite his interest in journalism, he continued his career as a puppeteer when he was hired by The Jim Henson Company in 1963, going on to perform several television characters such as 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). He was hired by Lucas to perform as Yoda in the Star Wars film series, beginning with The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and reprising the role in seven subsequent films and various media for more than four decades.
Oz is also known for his high-profile work as a filmmaker, having directed the films The Dark Crystal (1982), The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988), What About Bob? (1991), The Indian in the Cupboard (1995), In & Out (1997), Bowfinger (1999), The Score (2001), The Stepford Wives (2004), and Death at a Funeral (2007), as well as an episode of Leverage (2011).
Oz was born Frank Richard Oznowicz in Hereford, Herefordshire on May 25, 1944, the son of Belgian mother Frances (née Ghevaert; 1910–1989) and Dutch-Polish father Isadore "Mike" Oznowicz (1916–1998), both of whom were puppeteers who had moved to England when his father joined the Royal Netherlands Motorized Infantry Brigade. His mother was an ethnically Flemish Catholic and his father was Jewish. Some of his parents' puppets, including one that was made to mock Adolf Hitler, survived World War II and were presented at the Contemporary Jewish Museum and the Dutch National Archives. His father later worked as a window trimmer.
The family left England when Oz was six months old, living in his mother's native Belgium until he was five. They then moved to the U.S. and settled in Montana in 1951, before eventually relocating to Oakland, California. Oz attended Oakland Technical High School and Oakland City College. He worked as an apprentice puppeteer at Children's Fairyland as a teenager with the Vagabond Puppets, a production of the Oakland Recreation Department, where Lettie Connell was his mentor.
Oz performed as a puppeteer with Jim Henson’s Muppets. As a teenager, he worked with the Vagabond Puppets at the Children's Fairyland of Oakland, which is how he first met Henson. He was 19 when he joined Henson in New York to work on the Muppets in 1963. 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.
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; Kermit 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). In 2001 following his retirement, his characters were taken over by Eric Jacobson, with the exception of Cookie Monster, who was taken over by David Rudman.
Oz explained why he decided on leaving the Muppets in a 2007 interview:
Frank Oz
Frank Richard Oznowicz (born May 25, 1944), known professionally as Frank Oz, is a British-born 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.
The son of puppeteers, Oz worked as an apprentice puppeteer during his teenage years in Oakland, California. Despite his interest in journalism, he continued his career as a puppeteer when he was hired by The Jim Henson Company in 1963, going on to perform several television characters such as 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). He was hired by Lucas to perform as Yoda in the Star Wars film series, beginning with The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and reprising the role in seven subsequent films and various media for more than four decades.
Oz is also known for his high-profile work as a filmmaker, having directed the films The Dark Crystal (1982), The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988), What About Bob? (1991), The Indian in the Cupboard (1995), In & Out (1997), Bowfinger (1999), The Score (2001), The Stepford Wives (2004), and Death at a Funeral (2007), as well as an episode of Leverage (2011).
Oz was born Frank Richard Oznowicz in Hereford, Herefordshire on May 25, 1944, the son of Belgian mother Frances (née Ghevaert; 1910–1989) and Dutch-Polish father Isadore "Mike" Oznowicz (1916–1998), both of whom were puppeteers who had moved to England when his father joined the Royal Netherlands Motorized Infantry Brigade. His mother was an ethnically Flemish Catholic and his father was Jewish. Some of his parents' puppets, including one that was made to mock Adolf Hitler, survived World War II and were presented at the Contemporary Jewish Museum and the Dutch National Archives. His father later worked as a window trimmer.
The family left England when Oz was six months old, living in his mother's native Belgium until he was five. They then moved to the U.S. and settled in Montana in 1951, before eventually relocating to Oakland, California. Oz attended Oakland Technical High School and Oakland City College. He worked as an apprentice puppeteer at Children's Fairyland as a teenager with the Vagabond Puppets, a production of the Oakland Recreation Department, where Lettie Connell was his mentor.
Oz performed as a puppeteer with Jim Henson’s Muppets. As a teenager, he worked with the Vagabond Puppets at the Children's Fairyland of Oakland, which is how he first met Henson. He was 19 when he joined Henson in New York to work on the Muppets in 1963. 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.
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; Kermit 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). In 2001 following his retirement, his characters were taken over by Eric Jacobson, with the exception of Cookie Monster, who was taken over by David Rudman.
Oz explained why he decided on leaving the Muppets in a 2007 interview:
Recent media
Recent media