1. Frank Oz 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.
12 Facts About Frank Oz
1. 2.
Frank Oz was hired by Lucas to perform as Yoda in the Star Wars film series, beginning with The Empire Strikes Back and reprising the role in seven subsequent films and various media for more than four decades.
3.
Frank Oz's mother was an ethnically Flemish Catholic, whilst his father was Jewish.
4.
Frank Oz 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.
5.
Frank Oz was 19 when he joined Henson in New York to work on the Muppets in 1963.
6.
Frank Oz's characters have included Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle on The Muppet Show, and Cookie Monster, Bert and Grover on Sesame Street.
7.
Frank Oz 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.
8.
Frank Oz appeared in a similar role and scene in Trading Places, directed by Landis.
9.
Frank Oz had roles in several other Landis films including An American Werewolf in London, Spies Like Us, Innocent Blood, and Blues Brothers 2000.
10.
Frank Oz played a lawyer in the critically acclaimed 2019 film Knives Out.
11.
Frank Oz married Victoria Labalme, performing artist and daughter of historian Patricia Hochschild Labalme and designer George Labalme Jr.
12.
Frank Oz maintained a residence in England for nine years, and lives in Manhattan as of 2012.