Frank Oz

Who is Frank Oz?

Frank Oz is an American actor, puppeteer, and filmmaker who has actively worked in the industry since 1961. He has worked in this field for more than 55 years and is still actively working. Oz initially started his career in puppeteering and eventually started acting and making films. Likewise, he is well-known for his role in the ‘Star Wars’ film franchise as Yoda. Moreover, he is also popular for his show ‘The Muppet Show’ where he portrayed Muppet roles like Fozzie Bear and Miss Piggy. Apart from this, he has also lent his voice in various video games. This actor has also received prestigious nominations and awards for his different skills as an actor, director, and puppeteer.

Bio

Frank Oz’s full name is Frank Richard Oznowicz, born on 15 May 1944 in Hereford, Herefordshire, England. His parents are Frances (née Ghevaert) and Isidore Oznowicz who belonged to a different religion. His father was Jewish while his mother was raised Catholic. At the age of six, Frank and his parents moved to Belgium and lived there till he was five years old. They again moved to the United States in 1951 and lived in Oakland, California. Additionally, he is currently 76 years old with a Gemini star sign.

Early Life/Education

Frank Oz studied at Oakland Technical High School and enrolled at the Oakland City College for his higher education. He had an early interest in puppets and his parents also supported him in his learnings of puppets. During a puppeteering conference, he met Jim Henson who was really impressed by Frank’s work. He then asked him to join his team and work with puppets.

Nationality and Physical Stats

Frank Oz holds an American nationality and as per his ethnicity, he is White. He has Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry from his father’s side and Flemish descent from his mother’s side. Besides, he stands 6 feet and 2 inches (188cm/1.88m) and weighs around 76 kg (167lbs). Moreover, he has a pair of blue-colored eyes and gray hair color.

Social

Frank Oz is only active in his Twitter account (@TheFrankOzJam) which has 127.6 thousand followers.

Personal Life 

Frank Oz married Robin Garsen in 1979. They had four children; three sons and a daughter. Sadly, they divorced in 2005. After this, he then married Victoria Labalme in 2011. They are living together in Manhattan, New York.

Career

Puppeteering

Frank Oz joined Jim Henson’s puppeteering team when he was 19 years old. He then worked in ‘The Muppet Show’ which is a comedy television series that ran from 1976 to 1981. In this series, he voiced various puppets, and to name a famous one they were Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, Sam Eagle, etc. This show earned him huge recognization and he eventually started his acting career as well.

Movies of Frank Oz

Frank Oz’s debut film is ‘The Muppet Movie’ in 1979 where he had a voice role of various puppets. He then appeared in ‘The Blues Brothers’ and ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ in 1980. Likewise, he again had a puppeteer voice roles film like ‘The Great Muppet Caper’ in 1981, ‘The Dark Crystal’ in 1982, ‘Return of the Jedi’ as Yoda in 1983, and ‘The Muppets Take Manhattan’ in 1984. Meanwhile, he also had other roles in ‘Superman III,’ ‘An American Werewolf in London,’ ‘Innocent Blood,’ and ‘Labyrinth.’ Oz mostly had his film roles where he did puppeteering. He also had his puppeteering role in ‘Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird’ in 1985, ‘Muppet*Vision 3D’ in 1991, ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’ in 1992, ‘Muppet Treasure Island’ in 1996, and ‘Muppets from Space’ in 1999.

Furthermore, Frank is also known for his role of Yoda in the ‘Star Wars’ film series. The first film of this series came in ‘Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace’ in 1999, ‘ Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones’ in 2002, ‘Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith’ in 2005, ‘Star Tours–The Adventures Continue’ in 2011, and ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ in 2015. Moreover, he also played in ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ in 2017 and ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ in 2019. The film starred a huge number of casts and they were Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Harrison Ford, Anthony Daniels, Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, Carrie Fisher, Max von Sydow, and many more.

More

This actor has also played in the film documentary ‘Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey’ and ‘I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story’ in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Moreover, he also had a voice role in ‘Inside Out’ in 2015. His last played film is ‘Knives’ Out in 2019 where he played the role of Alan Stevens.

TV Shows

Talking about Frank’s series, he mostly had his puppeteering role in television series as well. And they were ‘Sesame Street’ from 1969 to 2013, ‘The Muppet Show’ from 1976 to 1981, ‘The Jim Henson Hour’ from 1989 to 1990, ‘The Muppets at Walt Disney World’ in 1990, and ‘Muppets Tonight’ from 1996 to 1998. This actor has also had voice roles in the television film ‘CinderElmo’ in 1999. Moreover, his last played series is ‘Star Wars Rebels’ in 2015 where he voiced over Yoda.

Awards 

Frank Oz has won the News & Documentary Emmy Award and the Daytime Emmy Award for his show ‘Sesame Street’ in 1974. He is also the recipient of the Primetime Emmy Award for his show ‘The Muppet Show’ in 1977. He again won the Daytime Emmy Award for the same show in 1979.

Net Worth of Frank Oz

Frank Oz has an estimated net worth of $80 million as of 2021.