Frank Oz

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Birthday:

25 May 1944, Hereford, England, UK

Birth Name:

Frank Richard Oznowicz

Height:

188 cm

Frank Richard Oznowicz was born in Hereford, England to puppeteers Frances and Isidore Oznowicz. His family moved to Montana in 1951, eventually settling in Oakland, California. As a teenager, he worked as an apprentice puppeteer at Children's Fairyland amusement park. He is one of the primary puppeteers responsible for the development of Jim Henson's Sesame Street (1969) and The Muppet Show (1976) as well as over 75 other Muppet productions. George Lucas originally contacted Henson to play the part of Yoda in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), but he recommended Oz for the part instead. He developed the character's trademark syntax, returning to voice and puppet the Jedi Master in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) and Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). He voiced the CGI character in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005), supporting the transition of the character's rendering to digital. In 2011, the Blu-Ray edition of The Phantom Menace replaced the puppet Yoda with CGI to match the other prequel films.He began a career of behind-the-camera puppet and live action filmmaking by co-directing The Dark Crystal (1982) with Henson. He went on to direct The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988), What About Bob? (1991), The Indian in the Cupboard (1995), Bowfinger (1999), The Score (2001), The Stepford Wives (2004) and Death at a Funeral (2007). Show less «

If you look at a lot of the pieces on The Muppet Show (1976) that came from Jim, there was a tremendous sweetness about them, and that's uni...Show more »

If you look at a lot of the pieces on The Muppet Show (1976) that came from Jim, there was a tremendous sweetness about them, and that's unique to Jim. Jim was never wimpy. He had a strength to his sweetness... that was great. Show less «

[on Jim Henson]: He envisioned a world where bears could tell jokes, chickens could sing, pigs could be stars and they all could ride bicycl...Show more »

[on Jim Henson]: He envisioned a world where bears could tell jokes, chickens could sing, pigs could be stars and they all could ride bicycles. Show less «

[on The Muppet Show (1976) head writer, Jerry Juhl]: He was the person responsible really for the heart of the Muppets. He just knew the cha...Show more »

[on The Muppet Show (1976) head writer, Jerry Juhl]: He was the person responsible really for the heart of the Muppets. He just knew the characters better than anybody else. He was brilliant because he could be funny but not nasty. He always saw the affection between the characters. Nobody else could do that kind of writing... He was THE Muppet writer. Show less «

[About the fame of Miss Piggy]: I wouldn't like to be that famous, I value my privacy. Mind you, Miss Piggy enjoys every moment of it. If it...Show more »

[About the fame of Miss Piggy]: I wouldn't like to be that famous, I value my privacy. Mind you, Miss Piggy enjoys every moment of it. If it were not for me, she would spend all her time in the limelight. Show less «

(On Touch of Evil) I think it opened up my view of film-that there's so much more that could be done. Actually, by breaking so many rules, h...Show more »

(On Touch of Evil) I think it opened up my view of film-that there's so much more that could be done. Actually, by breaking so many rules, he allowed other people to say, "Hey, I can maybe think of some stuff, too!" He just opened up the possibilities more for me. That's what he did. Show less «

[on Little Shop of Horrors (1986)] Howard Ashman gave me the best advice of anybody ever, regarding directing this kind of a movie. He said,...Show more »

[on Little Shop of Horrors (1986)] Howard Ashman gave me the best advice of anybody ever, regarding directing this kind of a movie. He said, "Frank, this is supposed to be stupid." And it was the best advice. He said, "My tongue was firmly in my cheek when I wrote this." Show less «

[on improvisation in "Death on a Funeral"] Are you kidding? Every movie I do - from Brando and DeNiro to "Funeral" - is improvised. I've wor...Show more »

[on improvisation in "Death on a Funeral"] Are you kidding? Every movie I do - from Brando and DeNiro to "Funeral" - is improvised. I've worked with some great scripts, including "Funeral," but improvisation really brings people together. I have to be flexible enough to bring life to a movie in that way. Show less «

I'm not making art, I think that's too highfalutin'. I'm just doing my best. Someone else can tell me whether it's art or not. In the meanti...Show more »

I'm not making art, I think that's too highfalutin'. I'm just doing my best. Someone else can tell me whether it's art or not. In the meantime, I just want everyone else to enjoy it. Show less «