Though his place in pop culture was assured in the early 1960s when he began operating and voicing many of the most memorable Muppets – including Cookie Monster, Bert, Fozzie the Bear, and his most famous creation, Miss Piggy – puppeteer Frank Oz established an impressive second career as a director of such eclectic films as “Little Shop of Horrors” (1986), “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” (1988), “Bowfinger” (1999), and “Death at a Funeral” (2007). He also endeared himself to countless “Star Wars” fans as the voice of the Jedi master Yoda in both “The Empire Strikes Back” (1980) and “Return of the Jedi” (1983).
Born Richard Frank Oznowicz in Hereford England on May 25, 1944, Oz’s parents were also puppeteers, with his father, Isadore “Mike” Oznowicz presiding as president of the Puppeteers of America. After relocating to Belgium, the family moved to California when Oz was five. By the age of 12, he was performing with his family at a local amusement park. Interestingly, he stated in an interview that he did not share his family’s love for puppeteering, but became involved with it to please them and to overcome his own shyness.
Oz’s association with the legendary Jim Henson came in the early 1960s when the pair met at a Puppeteers of America convention in California. He was blown away by Henson’s creations – the then unknown Muppets – and by the age of 19, was working as part of Henson’s company, Muppets, Inc. Some of his duties included participating in a variety of projects ranging from commercials for products like Purina Dog Food and LaChoy Chinese foods, to guest appearances on “The Jimmy Dean Show” (ABC, 1963-69), where Rowlf the piano playing dog was the host’s regular side kick. It was on the “Jimmy Dean Show” that Oz acquired his stage name. Unable to pronounce Oz’s full name, he garbled it during a live broadcast, and the young puppeteer kept the shortened version for posterity.
In 1966, Oz created many of the most memorable Muppet characters on the educational series “Sesame Street” (1966-), including Cookie Monster, Grover, and Bert, as well as countless minor characters. Oz worked on the series from its inception to its current incarnation, as well as the countless “Sesame Street” special programs and feature films, including the 1985 theatrical feature “Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird,” “The Adventures of Super Grover” (1987), the charming all-star TV special “Put Down The Duckie: A Sesame Street Special” (1988) and “A Sesame Street Christmas Carol” (2006). Oz shared a Daytime Emmy Award with Henson and other Muppet performers in 1979 for all of his efforts.
Oz, Henson, and the rest of the Muppet crew enjoyed a brief spell on “Saturday Night Live” (NBC, 1975- ) during its debut season in 1975-76; Oz voiced The Mighty Favog, a grouchy stone idol that took its name from the clock in the green room at “The Ed Sullivan Show” (CBS, 1948-1971). The Henson puppeteers gave the clock that name as a playful way of praying that the show did not run too long and deny them air time. The Not-Ready-for-Primetime-Players, including Gilda Radner, John Belushi and Chevy Chase made no bones about the Muppets taking away from their sketch comedy time. Lorne Michaels, creator and producer of “S.N.L.” finally got the clue at the end of season one, that viewers were less enthralled with the puppets and more interested in his stock players cutting edge sketches. Soon, the puppets were fired from 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
In 1976, Oz joined Henson as one of the principal performers on “The Muppet Show” (syndicated, 1976-1981), where he created another set of enduring characters like Fozzie, Miss Piggy, Animal, and the Swedish Chef (which was performed by Henson and Oz). Piggy was initially a supporting character, but the show’s writers and producers soon discovered her “star” potential and she soon became the #2 Muppet behind Henson’s Kermit the Frog. Fozzie Bear was relegated to second banana (natch) while Piggy became the show’s female lead.
Oz handled all of his characters in all of the subsequent Muppet film and television projects, including the highly successful “The Muppet Movie” (1979), “The Great Muppet Caper” (1981), “The Muppets Take Manhattan” (1984), and “Muppets in Space” (1999). He also provided voices and puppet work in many non-“Muppet Show” Henson-produced related projects, including “Emmett Otter’s Jug Band Christmas” (1977) and “The Dark Crystal” (1982), Henson’s ambitious theatrical fantasy film. For their efforts on “The Muppet Show,” Oz and the rest of the Henson team was nominated five times for an Emmy, taking home the trophy for Outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music Program in 1978.
In a turn of fortune, in 1979, George Lucas approached Henson to create a puppet character for the sequel to “Star Wars” (1977) – the highly anticipated sequel, “The Empire Strikes Back.” Henson was too busy with “The Muppet Show” and preparation on “Crystal,” that Oz was tapped to give voice to the character – a wizened creature name Yoda who trains Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) to become a Jedi. Oz had a great deal of involvement in the character’s development – including his signature backwards speech patterns – and became one of the breakout “stars” of the film. Oz operated and voiced the live-action Yoda in “Return of the Jedi” (1983) and lent his voice to the CG version of the character in “The Phantom Menace” (1999), “Attack of the Clones” (2002) and “Revenge of the Sith” (2005).
Oz’s directorial career was launched in 1982 when Henson asked him to help direct “The Dark Crystal.” He found the experience to be positive, so helmed the third theatrical Muppet film, “The Muppets Take Manhattan” (1984), which he also rewrote. This was followed by a film version of the popular Broadway musical “Little Shop of Horrors” (1986), which marked his first film project outside the Henson camp. It was successful enough for Oz to field offers for live action projects, so in 1988, he helmed his first non-puppet oriented film – a riotous remake of the 1964 comedy “Bedtime Story” called “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin as jet set con men. It too was a success, making Oz a comedy director in demand.
But what should have been sweet success for a man often viewed as co-pilot to Henson throughout their long lucrative and affectionate partnership, Oz suffered a tremendous loss – as did the entire Henson empire and the world, really, when Jim Henson died unexpectedly of pneumonia in 1990. After recovering from his loss, Oz went on to direct “What About Bob?” (1991) with Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss, and “HouseSitter” (1992) with Martin and Goldie Hawn – both moderate hits at the box office. However, his inventive children’s fantasy “The Indian in the Cupboard” (1995) fared less well with audiences. He soon rebounded with the smart comedy “In and Out” (1997), which earned an Oscar nomination for co-star Joan Cusack (and plenty of attention for a kiss between stars Kevin Kline and Tom Selleck) and “Bowfinger” (1999), a delightfully off-kilter showbiz comedy with Martin and Eddie Murphy.
In 2001, Oz attempted his first drama – a caper film called “The Score.” A powerhouse cast lead by Robert De Niro, Edward Norton and Marlon Brando was soon attached, but the shoot was plagued by problems – due mainly to the notoriously difficult Brando’s unwillingness to be directed by Oz. In fact, De Niro was forced to act as an intermediary between director and actor. The film performed modestly at the box office, but Oz’s next films – a 2004 remake of “The Stepford Wives” with Nicole Kidman and Bette Midler, and a dark comedy/fantasy called “The Funkhausers” (2002), sank without a trace. “Wives” was a particularly difficult experience for Oz, who endured countless reshoots, helping paint the film as a “troubled” project in the industry press. In 2007, Oz returned to directing with the black comedy “Death at a Funeral,” which earned a limited release.
In addition to his turns as Yoda and various Muppets, Oz also acted in several films – mostly for director John Landis. He was the corrections officer who processes Jake Blues’ (John Belushi) possessions in “The Blues Brothers” (1980); a mean-spirited cop in “Trading Places” (1983); and a pathologist in “Innocent Blood” (1988). He also provided voices for “Monsters, Inc.” (2001) and the haywire robot in “Zathura” (2005).