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 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).
^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.
^"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.
FrankOz (born Frank Richard Oznowicz; May 25, 1944) is an American puppeteer, filmmaker and actor. He is best known for his involvement with Jim Henson...
created by author L. Frank Baum, who went on to write fourteen full-length Oz books. Baum was styled as "the Royal Historian of Oz" in order to emphasize...
Wizard of Oz is a 1900 children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books...
Lindsay-Abaire and Mitchell Kapner from a story by Kapner. Based on L. Frank Baum's early 20th century Oz books and set 20 years before the events of the original 1900...
Jedi Order. FrankOz voiced and puppeteered Yoda in the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back, which was the character's first appearance. Oz reprised the...
where she was performed by Jerry Nelson. She is Oz's best-known character.: 103 Performed by FrankOz (1976–2000), Eric Jacobson (2002–present) An insecure...
suggested FrankOz for the role; Oz performed the role and continued in the subsequent Star Wars films. Lucas lobbied unsuccessfully to have Oz nominated...
Street. Originated by FrankOz and Jim Henson, the characters are currently performed by puppeteers Eric Jacobson and Peter Linz; Oz performed Bert until...
up -oz, -öz, Oz, oz, or öz in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Oz or OZ may refer to: Land of Oz, the setting for many of L. Frank Baum's novels Oz (Buffy...
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a 1900 children's novel written by American author L. Frank Baum. Since its first publication in 1900, it has been adapted...
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film The Wizard of Oz, and it is based on L. Frank Baum's early 20th century Oz novels, mainly Ozma of Oz (1907). In the plot, an insomniac...
on-again/off-again relationship with Kermit the Frog which never ends permanently. FrankOz performed the character from 1976 to 2002 and was succeeded by Eric Jacobson...
Fozzie's name has been traditionally thought to be a pun of performer FrankOz's name (F.Oz). It was also believed that the character was actually named after...
Oz, published on July 30, 1907, was the third book of L. Frank Baum's Oz series. It was the first in which Baum was clearly intending a series of Oz books...
moving on to the next stage in his career.[citation needed] According to FrankOz, in a later routine the then unnamed monster won a quiz show and for winning...
contractions when he speaks or sings. Grover was originally performed by FrankOz from his earliest appearances. Eric Jacobson has performed the character...
The Land of Oz is a magical country introduced in the 1900 children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W...
The Dark Crystal is a 1982 dark fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and FrankOz. It stars the voices of Stephen Garlick, Lisa Maxwell, Billie Whitelaw...
performers Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson, Bill Barretta, and FrankOz, as well as Jeffrey Tambor, F. Murray Abraham, David Arquette, Josh Charles...
published in July 1904, is the second book in L. Frank Baum's Oz series, and the sequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). This and the following 34 books in...
Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, and FrankOz. Following the success of Star Wars, Lucas hired Brackett to write the...
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