Frank Oz, whose actual name is Frank Richard Oznowicz is an American puppeteer, filmmaker, and actor.
Advertisement
He was born on May 25, 1944, and 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.
Early Life, and Career:
Oz was born in Hereford, Herefordshire, England,
He attended Oakland Technical High School and Oakland City College and 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; 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, his characters were taken over primarily by Eric Jacobson (with David Rudman as Cookie Monster).
Oz is also known as the performer of Jedi Master Yoda from George Lucas’ Star Wars series.
Oz performed the puppet and provided the voice for Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Return of the Jedi (1983), Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), and Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017).
Oz also provided the voice of the computer-generated imagery (CGI) Yoda in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005). The conversion to CGI was met with some criticism among fans, but Oz himself said that was “exactly what [Lucas] should have done.”
Oz returned to voice Yoda in several Disney theme park attractions, Star Tours–The Adventures Continue and within Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge as well as in the Star Wars Rebels episodes, “Path of the Jedi” and “Shroud of Darkness”.
Advertisement
Oz voiced Yoda in the 2020 Oculus Quest VR game “Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge” alongside original C-3PO voice actor Anthony Daniels.
He directed the 2017 documentary Muppet Guys Talking: Secrets Behind the Show the Whole World Watched in which he and other Muppet performers discuss working behind the scenes with Jim Henson and the Muppets.
As an actor, Oz appeared in one scene as a Prison Storeroom Keeper in The Blues Brothers (1980), directed by John Landis. He appeared in a similar role and scene in Trading Places (1983), also directed by Landis. He had roles in several other Landis films, including An American Werewolf in London (1981), Spies Like Us (1985), Innocent Blood (1992), and Blues Brothers 2000 (1998).
In 2001, he had a voice acting role in the Pixar film Monsters, Inc. as Randall’s scare assistant, Fungus. In 2005, he had a minor role in the Columbia film Zathura as the voice of the robot. He played a lawyer in the critically acclaimed 2019 film Knives Out.
Family, Personal Life, and Facts: Parents, Siblings, Wife, Children, and House
Oz’s parents are Frances (née Ghevaert; 1910–1989) and Isadore “Mike” Oznowicz (1916–1998), both of whom were puppeteers.
His father was also a window trimmer. His parents moved to England, where his father joined the Dutch Brigades.
Oz’s Dutch-Polish father was Jewish, and his Flemish mother was a Catholic.
They left England when he was six months old and lived in Belgium until he was five. Oz and his family moved to Montana in 1951, eventually settling in Oakland, California.
Oz has been married twice.
He was married to Robin Garsen from 1979 to 2005. Robin was born on April 28, 1953 in Los Angeles, California, USA. There is no further information about his first wife.
He married his second wife, Victoria Labalme, daughter of historian Patricia Hochschild Labalme, in 2011.
Labalme helps people uncover their hidden genius and express their ideas in memorable ways.
Founder of Risk Forward® and Rock The Room®, Victoria is a trusted consultant to entrepreneurs, C-suite executives at global brands, and elite individuals.
Her proprietary systems and strategies have been embraced by over 700 organizations, and her creative projects have received critical acclaim from The Hollywood Reporter, The New York Times, Variety, BBC, CBS, Los Angeles Times, and Good Morning America. Victoria is known for her Keynote Performances, online courses, and workshops around the world.
Oz has four children.
He maintained a residence in England for nine years and, as of 2012, lives in Manhattan.
Net Worth
Oz has an estimated net worth of $80 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Leave a Reply