Frank Oz

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

(1944-05-25) May 25, 1944 (age 80)
Hereford, Herefordshire, England, UK
CitizenshipUnited States[1]
Alma materOakland City College
Occupations
  • Puppeteer
  • filmmaker
  • actor
Years active1961–present
Spouses
Robin Garsen
​
​
(m. 1979; div. 2005)​
​
(m. 2011)​
Children4

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.

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 seven 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), Bowfinger (1999), Death at a Funeral (2007), and an episode of the US television series Leverage (2011).

  1. ^ Douglas, Edward (August 10, 2007). "Exclusive: A Chat with Frank Oz". ComingSoon.net. Evolve Media, LLC. Archived from the original on May 19, 2018. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  2. ^ "The Jim Henson Legacy - A Conversation with Frank Oz at the Museum of the Moving Image". May 16, 2021. Archived from the original on May 16, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  3. ^ "Frank Oz". AllMusic.