Did you know that the person who gave his voice to the Jedi Master Yoda also is the voice behind Miss Piggy and Cookie Monster?
The man behind the voice of Yoda and most puppetry work was Frank Oz, he was not only responsible for the voice but also for a bit of Yoda’s character as well. Besides giving voice to Yoda, Miss Piggy, and the Cookie Monster. Frank Oz also the voice behind Fozzie Bear, Sam the Eagle, Bert from Bert and Ernie and Grover.
Background
Frank Richard Oznowicz was born on 25th May 1944 in Hereford, England. He was the son of Frances and Isidore Oznowicz, both of his parents were puppeteers. His father also used to work as a window trimmer. His family moved to England after fighting with Nazis in Dutch Brigades. Frank’s father was Jewish, and his mother was Catholic. His parents left England when he was just 6 months old and settled in Belgium. They lived in Belgium until he was 5 years old, then they moved to Montana in 1951. Then they settled in Oakland, California.
Frank Oz attended Oakland Technical High School and City College. Frank Oz worked as an apprentice puppeteer at Children’s Fairyland with the Vagabond Puppets during his teenage. It was a production of the Oakland Recreation Department. Lettie Connel was his mentor during his teenage years.
After finishing his college he started his career as a puppeteer, performing the Muppet characters of Fozzie Bear, Animal, Sam Eagle and Miss Piggy in the Muppet Show and he was performing characters Bert, Cookie Monster and Grover in Sesame Street. He was famously known for the role of Yoda in the Star Wars movie series. He gave out his voice for the character in many films and television series.
He also worked as a director, the movies he directed included 1986 – Little Shop of Horrors movies, 1988 – Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, 1991 – What about bob?, 1997 – In and out, 1999 – Bowfinger, 2001 – The Score, 2007 – Death at a funeral. He also directed an episode of the US TV series leverage.
Frank also worked as an actor; Oz appeared in one scene as a Prison Storeroom Keeper in the movie The Blue Brothers released in 1980. In 1983 he also appeared in a similar kind of role in Trading Places movie. He also played roles in several other movies including Innocent Blood, The Blues Brother 2000, Spies Like Us, An American Werewolf in London.
Personal life
Frank Oz has been married two times. First to Robin Garsen and now he is married to Victoria Labalme. Frank has four children(3 sons and 1 daughter). He has a home in England, which he bought 9 years ago and has been living in Manhattan since 2012.