Frank Oz

Frank Richard Oznowicz (born May 25, 1944), known professionally as Frank Oz, is an American puppeteer, filmmaker, and actor. He 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. The son of puppeteers, Oz worked as an apprentice puppeteer during his teenage years in Oakland, California. Despite his interest in journalism, he continued his career as a puppeteer when he was hired by the Jim Henson Company in 1963, going on to perform several television characters such as Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle on The Muppet Show (1976–1981) and Cookie Monster, Bert, and Grover on Sesame Street from 1969 to 2013. He was hired by Lucas to perform as Yoda in the Star Wars film series, beginning with The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and reprising the role in seven subsequent films and various media for more than four decades. Oz is also known for his high-profile work as a filmmaker, having directed the films The Dark Crystal (1982), The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988), What About Bob? (1991), The Indian in the Cupboard (1995), In & Out (1997), Bowfinger (1999), The Score (2001), The Stepford Wives (2004), and Death at a Funeral (2007), as well as an episode of Leverage (2011).