Frank Oz

 Earliest Known Appearance: Episode 0001  Frank Oz  ( born on May 25th, 1944 as  Richard Frank Oznowicz  ) , is 1 of the foremost Muppeteers  in the whole Muppet business. He is Jim Henson  's  closest collaborator  as well as  his   best friend . Oz & Henson , together , performed some of the Muppets' most famous teams - - Oz was the neat Bert to  Henson  's untidy Ernie , & Miss Piggy to  Henson  's Kermit the Frog ; probably the most famous pairing. Oz, on Sesame Street , also performed Cookie Monster , Grover , & Lefty the Salesman ; & on The Muppet Show , he performed some major characters like Fozzie Bear , Animal & Sam the Eagle , & also some minor characters, like George the Janitor & Marvin Suggs. Oz also performed  Uncle Hank , the uncle of  Oscar the Grouch  in ''[http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Sesame_Street_Stays_Up_Late! Sesame Street Stays Up Late! ], the Sesame Street'' special from 1993 , celebrating New Years Eve around the world , which was also the 1 st known occasion where Oz performed Bert to Steve Whitmire  ' s Ernie , with  Whitmire  taking  Jim Henson  's place in the unbreakable partnership that  Henson  & Oz had shared for 27 years.

Early Years
Richard " Frank " Oznowicz was born in England, spent parts of his childhood in Belgium , & moved to America when he was 5. The son of puppeteers Isadore " Mike " Oznowicz & his wife Frances, with 2 siblings , young Frank was performing as part of the Oznowicz Family Marionettes troupe by age 12. Despite this background, " I don't have a love of puppets , " Oz explained in a 1987 interview " I did it as a means of expression . I was able to express myself & please my parents . It was also safe to hide behind puppets because at that point I was a little shy . " He had no desire to go into puppeteering professionally : " I just did it as a hobby to get some money - - I really wanted to be a journalist . "

Beginning w/ Henson
Frank Oz 1 st met Jim Henson  when he was 17, while attending the Puppeteers of America festival in California. His 1 st impression of Henson  was as " this very quiet, shy guy who did these absolutely ****** amazing puppets that were totally brand new & fresh , that had never been done before . " At age 19 , in 1963 , he joined the burgeoning [http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/The_Jim_Henson_Company Muppets , Inc. ] as a right hand for Rowlf the Dog in variety appearances & later on the Jimmy Dean Show. It was here that Jimmy Dean actually introduced him as " Frank Oz . . ., " mumbling the last part of his name. Thus, Oz began using the shortened form of his name he ' s known by today.

Oz also worked on commercials, replacing Jim  's wife , Jane Henson as key assistant. Henson dubbed all the voices, &  he  & Oz would alternate when performing such buddy duos as Scoop & Skip , & the new puppeteer assisted on such characters as the Southern Colonel & Nutty Bird. His most notable commercial role was as Delbert the La Choy Dragon. This was his 1 st, & 1 of his  very   few  , experiences , as a full - bodied puppet performer , & 1 which he really didn't relish : " I hated it . I hated doing it totally . Jim  knew I hated it . I think  he  relished it . The Delbert the La Choy Dragon was a ****** . I was totally blind in there . I always hated being inside characters , but I was the main performer & that was my job. "

Sesame Street
Eventually, on Sesame Street , Frank Oz had originated the characters Cookie Monster , Grover , & Bert , & he performed them exclusively for almost 30 years. Oz, during this time , performed a great number of minor characters , including Prince Charming , Lefty the Salesman , & Harvey Kneeslapper. He was offered the role of Big Bird also, but cause of his experience as the La Choy Dragon , Frank immediately turned the role down.

Fran Brill, commenting on his performing habits , also noted that Oz would often put his hand on top of who ever was doing right hands so th ey couldn ' t gesture too much.

According to the book Sesame Street Unpaved, during the show 's early years Oz was in almost every sketch , but by 1998 he only appeared on the Sesame Street set , apparently , 4 days a year , performing nearly 15 sketches with his characters during those mere four days. As of 2011, he is still taping appearances during a limited schedule for new segments , 1 day a year. Even despite this, to help keep Oz 's main characters visible Eric Jacobson  is currently the principal  performer  of Grover & Bert , &  David Rudman  is the new principal  performer  of Cookie Monster. Oz is confirmed to have performed in segments for Season 43. Oz will also be heard as Grover in a brand new sketch with [http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Mr._Johnson Mr. Johnson ] in Sesame Street episode 4302, along with a new Grover song , I Am Special for Sesame Street episode 4312 , & finally , Oz will be heard in the Downtown Abbey parody  called Upside Downton Abbey , a sketch scheduled to appear on the show in 2013.

Middle Years
Between the beginning of Sesame Street & the start of The Muppet Show, Frank Oz performed in nearly every major Henson  production , including The Great San ta Cla us Switch , The Frog Prince , & The Muppet Musicians of Bremen. 1 of his most significant characters during this time was The Mighty Favog on S N L.

The Muppet Show
Frank Oz was also 1 of the main Muppeteer s  on The Muppet Show, performing several of the show ' s stars. He performed Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear , Animal , & Sam the Eagle , & 2 ndary characters George the Janitor , & Marvin Suggs.

Fozzie Bear was originally intended to be his main character, & Miss Piggy was originally meant to only be a supporting character. In fact, during the 1 st few episodes of season 1 , Oz actually shared the role of Miss Piggy w/ fellow Muppeteer  & a very good friend of his ,  Richard Hunt. Once the writ ers & prod ucers realized Piggy was more than just a 1 - joke character, & had more star potential than Fozzie , she became a major part of the Muppet cast , & Frank Oz performed her full - time.

Oz, in addition to performing these main character s , also performed the hands of the Swedish Chef while Jim Henson  performed the body & voice together. Oz, during these sketches , would often do something unexpected with the hands , normally without telling Jim  beforehand. The Muppet Morsels quote Oz as saying that the best Swedish Chef sketches were those that had gone unrehearsed.

In addition to performing, Frank Oz also wrote the songs " The Rhyming Song " & " Jamboree ". He was also credited on The Muppet Show as a creative consultant.

Frank Oz & Jim Henson
" Watching Jim  's Ernie teasing Frank Oz 's Bert & driving him to distraction was to witness unadulterated glee ! " - Caroly Wilcox It was w / many characters on which the 2 collaborated. Together Jim Henson  & Frank Oz made such memorable pairings as Ernie & Bert, as well as Kermit the Frog & Miss Piggy , & the Swedish Chef. 3 other characters that Oz performed, Fozzie Bear , Grover & Cookie Monster , would play off of Kermit the Frog on numerous occasions , & there was also Lefty the Salesman , who tried to fool poor Ernie on several occasions. Ernie & Cookie Monster were also paired up multiple times. Other pairings of the team's characters include Rowlf the Dog & Fozzie Bear, along with Rowlf sometimes paired with Miss Piggy. Kermit also had to listen to another of Frank 's characters, Sam the Eagle endlessly complain about the weirdness of what was shown normally on The Muppet Show. Also, when it came time for '''[http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Dr._Teeth Dr. Teeth ] & the Electric Mayhem to perform a song on a Muppet Show episode, Henson  's [http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Dr._Teeth Dr. Teeth ] & Oz 's Animal''' were always positioned right next to each other on the bandstand, even after Jim  died. Also, in episode 302 , when guest star Leo Sayer had asked to meet Animal , '''[http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Dr._Teeth Dr. Teeth ] brought Animal into Leo ' s dressing room so Leo & Animal''' could then meet. Also, in at least 2 clips of the At the Dance segment on The Muppet Show , '''[http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Dr._Teeth Dr. Teeth ]''' is shown dancing w/ Mildred Huxtetter, a character Oz had voiced in that segment. Also, as in the case of Kermit & Piggy , on several occasions , Henson  's characters usually became victim to Oz 's characters , & , occasionally , vice versa. For example, Kermit became Marvin Suggs ' victim in episode 506 of The Muppet Show , as well as Animal. The 1 st time this occurred was in episode 110, when Animal beat Kermit like a drum in order to get him to completely forget about replacing Animal as the show 's drummer. They also worked together in the early 1980s while co - directing / performing in The Dark Crystal. They also played the parents in the Twiddlebug family with Henson  performing the father, Thomas Twiddlebug , & with Oz performing the mother , Tessie Twiddlebug. It can be seen clearly that Jim  & Frank had been even closer than brothers, like their primary characters of Sesame Street , Ernie & Bert , respectively , are today. At Henson  's Memorial Service, 5 short days after his death , Frank speaks of a Christ mas gift  Jim  gave him , which he called " Bert in Self - Contemplation ". He starts to cry but manages to say " That's when I knew, he  loved me & I loved  him  . "

[http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Michael_K._Firth Michael K. Frith ] says that Henson  & Oz 's work was inspiring :

" I 've always said, & I still believe , that we all basically rode on the coat tails of Jim Henson  & Frank Oz . They were a comedy duo that is up there with Laurel & Hardy . I mean , they had that sense of timing , they had that sense of play between themselves , they had the ability to understand each others ' characters & play off them with their characters . "

Kenneth Plume : How big a blow was Jim  ' s passing to you ?

Frank Oz - You just can't express it in words. I 'd known him  since I was 17. It was a mortal blow to a part of me, & always will be.

Jim Henson / Frank Oz Muppet Pairings

 * Ernie / Bert
 * Ernie / Bart
 * Ernie / Cookie Monster
 * Ernie / Grover
 * Ernie / Beautiful Day Monster
 * Ernie / Professor Hastings
 * Ernie / Lefty the Salesman
 * Ernie / Fred ( monster )
 * Ernie / Harvey Kneeslapper
 * Ernie / Mailman
 * Ernie / Fozzie Bear
 * Kermit the Protozoa / Fozzie Amoeba
 * Kermit the Frog / Bert
 * Kermit the Frog / Pinocchio
 * Kermit the Frog / Harvey Kneeslapper
 * Kermit the Frog / Aladdin
 * Kermit the Frog / T - Shirt Salesman
 * Kermit the Frog / The Cat
 * Kermit the Frog / Prince Charming
 * Kermit the Frog / The Pied Piper
 * Kermit the Frog / The Little Bad Wolf
 * Kermit the Frog / Augustine Washington
 * Kermit the Frog / Lamont the Dog
 * Kermit the Frog / Professor Hastings
 * Kermit the Frog / The Old Woman Who Lives in a Shoe
 * Kermit the Frog / Grover
 * Kermit the Frog / Cookie Monster
 * Kermit the Frog / Beautiful Day Monster
 * Kermit the Frog / Marvin Suggs
 * Kermit the Frog / Sam the Eagle
 * Kermit the Frog / Miss Piggy
 * Kermit the Frog / Fozzie Bear
 * Kermit the Frog / Animal
 * Kermit the Frog / Humpty Dumpty
 * Kermit the Frog / The Woodsman
 * Kermit the Frog / The Tortoise
 * Kermit the Frog / Gawain
 * Kermit the Frog / Bruce Rumpelstiltskin
 * Kermit the Frog / Splurge
 * Dr . Teeth / Animal
 * Dr . Teeth / Sam the Eagle
 * Dr . Teeth / Fozzie Bear
 * Dr . Teeth / Miss Piggy
 * Dr . Teeth / Mildred Huxtetter
 * The Mechanical Wind - up TV Show Host / Miss Piggy
 * Green Heap / Purple Heap
 * Roberta / Rocky ' s Mother ( w / Jerry Nelson  ' s Rocky )
 * Tony / 2 large Mons ters in the song " I ' m Between "
 * Tony / Beautiful Day Monster
 * Garth / Gawain
 * Maurice / Susie
 * Rowlf the Dog / Fozzie Bear
 * Rowlf the Dog / Miss Piggy
 * Rowlf the Dog / Sam the Eagle
 * Rowlf the Dog / Marvin Suggs
 * Rowlf the Dog / Gorgon Heap ( once in The Muppet Show Episode 103 ; Sherlock Holmes & the Case of the Disappearing Clues )
 * Lothar / Thig
 * Lothar / Boppity
 * Thomas Twiddlebug / Tessie Twiddlebug
 * Herry Monster / Cookie Monster
 * Maurice Monster / Grover
 * Guy Smiley / Grover
 * Guy Smiley / Cookie Monster
 * Guy Smiley / Beautiful Day Monster
 * Guy Smiley / Sally Screamer
 * Guy Smiley / Mrs . Rooney
 * Guy Smiley / Frances Oznowicz
 * Guy Smiley / Jascha Lombardi
 * Guy Smiley / Tooth
 * Guy Smiley / Baskerville the Hound
 * Guy Smiley / Lucy Jones
 * Guy Smiley / Farmer Frankie
 * Guy Smiley / Cloud
 * Guy Smiley / Lefty the Salesman
 * Guy Smiley / Scudge
 * Guy Smiley / Professor Hastings
 * The Newsman / Sam the Eagle
 * Little Bird / Baskerville the Hound
 * Little Bird / Beautiful Day Monster
 * Little Bird / Lucy Jones
 * Maurice / Pumpkin Anything Muppet in " I Want to Hold Your Ear "
 * Wally Whoopie / Fozzie Bear
 * The Swedish Chef / Dough
 * The Swedish Chef / Miss Piggy
 * The Swedish Chef / Sam the Eagle
 * The Swedish Chef / Animal
 * The Swedish Chef / Fozzie Bear
 * Link Hogthrob / Miss Piggy
 * Link Hogthrob / Fozzie Bear
 * Link Hogthrob / Animal
 * Link Hogthrob / Marvin Suggs
 * Waldorf / Bert
 * Waldorf / Cookie Monster
 * Waldorf / Grover
 * Waldorf / Fozzie Bear
 * Jim / Frank ( with Jerry Nelson  ' s Jerry )
 * Leo / Grump
 * Leo / Quongo
 * Nigel / Sam the Eagle
 * Mahna Mahna / The Snowths
 * Mahna Mahna / Grump
 * Sinister Sam / Doc Holiday
 * As I Was Going to St. Ives Anything Muppets :


 * Purple Boy / Green Girl
 * King Peter the Persnickety / Princess Penelope
 * Howard Snake / Chuck Stoat
 * Lance / Little Miss Muffet
 * Flakey / Snow White
 * Pokey / Snow White
 * Sneaky / Snow White
 * The Genie / Cookie Monster
 * George Washington / Teddy Roosevelt ( Mount Rushmore )
 * Harold Happy / Helen Happy
 * Grandmother Happy / Helen Happy
 * Harvey Monster / Clancy
 * The King / The Tallest Person in the Kingdom
 * The King / The Smallest Person in the Kingdom
 * Beginning / End
 * Freddy Smith / Grover ( as Super Grover )

Muppeteer veteran  Steve Whitmire  can be seen & heard taking  Henson  ' s place in these 8 pairings  he  originally shared with Oz before  his  death :


 * Ernie / Bert
 * Ernie / Cookie Monster
 * Ernie / Grover
 * Kermit the Frog / Miss Piggy
 * Kermit the Frog / Fozzie Bear
 * Kermit the Frog / Grover
 * Kermit the Frog / Sam the Eagle
 * The Swedish Chef / Fozzie Bear ( I Lo ve Lucy Movie Mania Screen Test )

Branching Out
In 1980, George Lucas contacted Henson  about a puppet character he wanted for his next Star Wars film , The Empire Strikes Back , a creature known as Yoda. Since Henson  was pre - occupied, Oz was assigned as chief puppeteer & as creative consultant , while other  Henson  alumni worked on the fabrication. Oz had a great deal of creative input on the character, & was himself responsible for creating the character ' s trademark style of reversed grammar.

Oz has also been a frequent cameo player in the films of John Landis, in which he was often cast as a grizzled or surly official. This began with An American Werewolf in London & extended to The Blue s Brothers,  Trading Places  , Sp ies Like U s ,  Innocent Blood  , & most recently ,  Blues Brothers 2000. As a voice actor outside of the Muppets & Yoda, he was heard as Fungus in the Disney / Pixar film ''[http://pixar.wikia.com/wiki/Monsters,_Inc. Monsters, Inc. ] & the robot in Columbia Pictures ' Zathura''.

Directorial Career
Frank Oz made his [ directorial ] debut on Sesame Street when he directed the Number Three Ball Film segment. When production began on The Dark Crystal, Jim Henson  decided to let Frank Oz co - [ direct ] the movie with him. According to an interview with Oz, " ( Jim  ) said , ' Do you want to direct Dark Crystal with  me  ? ' , & I said , ' Why ? , I don't know how to direct .  You  could do it  yourself  . Why would  you  want me to direct with  you  ? '  He  said , ' Because it would be better ' . & that ' s all that mattered .  He  didn't care about the credit .  He  knew that he had some weaknesses & he knew that I had some strengths , & so we worked together that way . "

A few years later, Oz directed The Muppets Take Manhattan. According to Oz, " There was a script written by 2 other writers , & I said to Jim  that I didn't think this was in the right direction . I may have been wrong about this , but the point is that  Jim  allowed me to rewrite it & I rewrote the script . [ Then ]  he  asked me to direct it . I was very grateful , & that was the 1 st directing job I had really done on my own . "

After this, he directed his 1 st non - Henson  movie , Little Shop of Horrors , adapted from the Broadway play. In the 1987 interview with  The Advertiser , Oz explained the empowering aspects of directing : " Five years ago I would have hemmed & hawed while talking to you ... But you get raw , naked , savage power as a director & all of a sudden you talk a lot . "

Following the film ' s success, Oz became an in - demand director , primarily of live action comedies such as Dirty Rotten Scoundrels , ''[http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Frank_Oz_Films#What_about_Bob.3F What About Bob ? ], & The Stepford Wives''. In 2001, he directed his 1 st drama , The Score , & in 2007 , he directed his 1 st independent film , Death at a Funeral.

Due to his career as a director, Oz became too busy to perform as often as he had previously. He would still perform a few days on Sesame Street every season, & would often find time to perform in major ( & sometimes minor ) Muppet productions , though the producers often had to work around his schedule ( & in some cases , other performers  performed his characters & he looped the dialogue later . Such was the case during many of the filming days for Muppet Treasure Island & Muppets from Space. )

Current Muppet Status
Starting in the mid - 1990s, after 3 + long decades of Muppet performing  , Oz began to transition himself away from his Muppet duties to focus on directing. Immediately following Muppets from Space, all his main Muppet Show characters have been handed over to Eric Jacobson  , who has also mostly taken over Bert & Grover , while  David Rudman  has become the new performer for Cookie Monster. Although, as David  &  Eric  have once said , Oz usually comes in 4 or 5 times a year & will do a " Bert Day " , " Grover Day " , " Cookie Day " , etc.

In a 2007 interview, Oz explained why he distanced himself from the Muppets : There were a lot of reasons. 1 was that I was a dad, I have 4 kids. The reason was that I was constantly asked to do stuff. & also, I had done this for 30 years , & I had never wanted to be a puppeteer in the 1 st place. I wanted to be a journalist, & really what I wanted to do was direct theatre & direct movies.

So it was a slow progression, working with Jim  , but I felt limited. As an actor & a performer, you feel limited because you ' re not the source for the creation , & I wanted to be the source. I wanted to be the guy & show my view of the world. & if I screw it up, then I screw it up , but at least I tried.

& as a director, what you're really showing is you're showing the audience your view of the world. I don't know why, but I thought I say things a certain way , & I wanted to express myself. I ' ve always enjoyed, more than anything else , bringing things to life , whether it be characters or actors in a scene or moments in movies. I ' ve done so much with puppets, that I've wanted to work with actors. "

In a 2000 interview, Oz said , " I've made a policy over the last 15 years of not having any pictures with my characters & I , at all , in the same shot . That is because , as a director , I can walk on a film for 18 hours a day for a year -- work my ass off - - & people will see it & say " Ah , yeah , that 's nice. That was a good film ", Then they see 1 picture of me & 1 of my characters , & they go ape**** . They 'll freak out & say , " You do that character ! " The power of the Muppets, & the popularity of these characters , is so iconic in peo ple 's lives , that I've had to distance myself from it publicly . "

In addition to not posing for pictures with his characters, Frank Oz also refuses to talk in his character voices on request. His reasoning for this is that the characters are too special to him. For him, to do a voice on command is akin to performing a parlor trick , & that the character exists as much more than just a voice. Oz goes more into depth on this subject in The World of Jim Henson.

Oz recently did a rare in - person appearance on October 23rd, 2011 at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria , New York , across the street from the Kaufman Astoria Studios where Sesame Street is currently taped. Interviewed by Craig Shemin, the seminar focused on his career both as a Muppeteer  & director.

Evidently, Frank Oz was offered the chance to perform in The Muppets , despite the fact that as noted , he had retired from Muppet performing. In Fall 2011, when speaking of the early script of the then recent film , Oz was quoted in a UK article as saying :

" I turned it down, I wasn't happy with the script . I don ' t think they respected the characters . But I don ' t want to go on about it like a sourpuss & hurt the movie . "

Oz stated in the same interview that :

" Working with Jim  & the Muppets was very exciting . . . I feel so deeply privileged to be part of it . But when you work for 30 years on something, you wanna do something else . "

Oz 's quote about being dissatisfied with the movie 's script was soon publicized, picked up by several [http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/The_United_States_of_America U. S. ] websites & bloggers, combined with unsourced claims that some of the film ' s Muppeteers  were also unhappy with the movie. Since Oz ' s Muppet retirement in 2000 was relatively quiet, some of these authors were under the impression that his dislike of the early script was the reason for his departure from the Muppets , even though his true departure from performing with the Muppets was almost 10 years prior.

In a July 2012 interview, Oz stated ;

" I felt the movie was really sweet & fun, a little too safe , a little retro ; I prefer more cutting edge with The Muppets . But the main thing is everybody got back to appreciating The Muppets , & what I wish th ey 'd appreciate is the performance underneath The Muppets ; those are the key peo ple . . . the main thing is it brought peo ple back to The Muppets . Although they never really left , it ' s always been a kind of subculture , it ' s always been there in our popular culture a little bit . So I ' m happy that peo ple are happy . " "

Muppeteer Credits

 * Oz 's primary Muppet characters :


 * Cookie Monster ( Sesame Street Season 1 ( 1969 ) - present )


 * David Rudman ( 2001 - present )
 * Bert ( Sesame Street Episode 0001 ( 1969 ) - present )


 *  Eric Jacobson  ( 1997 - present )
 * Grover ( Sesame Street Season 2 ( 1970 ) - present )


 *  Eric Jacobson  ( 1998 - present )
 * Miss Piggy ( The Muppet Show ( 1976 ) - The Today Show ( 2002 ) )


 *  Eric Jacobson  ( Muppet Fest ( 2001 ) - present )
 * Animal ( The Muppet Show : Sex & Violence ( 1975 ) - Muppet RaceMania ( 2000 ) )


 *  Eric Jacobson  ( It's a Very Merry Muppet Christ mas Movie ( 2002 ) - present )
 * Sam the Eagle ( The Muppet Show : Sex & Violence ( 1975 ) - Muppet RaceMania ( 2000 ) )


 *  Eric Jacobson  ( The Muppets ' Wizard of Oz ( 2005 ) - present )
 * Fozzie Bear ( The Muppet Show ( 1976 ) - Muppet RaceMania ( 2000 ) )


 *  Eric Jacobson  ( It's a Very Merry Muppet Christ mas Movie ( 2002 ) - present ) )
 * Commercials : Delbert the La Choy Dragon ( body ), The Southern Colonel ( assistant )
 * Sesame Street : Aladdin, Alistair Cookie, As I Was Going to St. Ives girl , The Barber , Bart , Baskerville the Hound , Beautiful Day Monster , Bert ( 1969 - present ) , Betty Lou ( occasionally ) , Bruce Rumpelstiltskin, The Cat , Carson , Charlie , Cloud ( in " Here Is Your Life " ) , Consider Yourself girl & boy , Clucky Luciano , Cookie Monster ( 1969 - present ) , Count von Count 's Bats , Doc Holiday , Dr . Rainbrain , End , Farmer Frankie , Fat Blue " Fat Cat " performer , Frances Oznowicz , Grover ( 1970 - present ) , Grover ' s Mommy ( 1970s ) , Harvey Kneeslapper , Helen Happy , Hippie , Humpty Dumpty ( 1970s ) , Jascha Lombardi , J Friend , Keith Hearburn , King Kenny the Kind , Lamont ( dog ) , Larry Rhymie , Lefty the Salesman, Little Miss Muffet ( 1971 ) , Lucy Jones , Mailman , Mother Goose ( Anything Muppet )Mr . Draper , Mrs . Rooney , Old King Cole ' s Band Lavender fiddle r & Fat Blue saxophone player , The Old Woman Who Lives in a Shoe ( " Sesame Street News Flash " ) , Parker Piper , The Pied Piper , a pineapple from " Bilingual Fruit Song" , Pinocchio , Poppa Piper , Porter Piper , Prince Charming , Princess Penelope , Professor Hastings , Pumpkin Anything Muppet doctor from " The Peo ple in Yo ur Neighborhood " , Pumpkin Anything Muppet woman from " I Want to Hold Your Ear " , Purple Anything Muppet female back - up singer from " Mahna Mahna " , Rocky ' s Mother , Rosemary , Sad Man , Sally Screamer , Scudge ( 1969 ) , Sister ( albums only ) , The Tallest Person in the Kingdom , Smilin ' Jack , Snow White ( 1971 ) , The Square , Susie , T - Shirt Salesman , The Smallest Person in the Kingdom , Tessie Twiddlebug , Tooth , The Tortoise ( 1971 ) , The Wicked Witch , The Woodsman , Yellow Submarine Purple captain , Yip Yip Martians , Zippy Zoomers
 * The Ed Sullivan Show : Fuzzyface, Dancer
 * Hey Cinderella ! : Stepsister 1, Rufus
 * The Great San ta Cla us Switch : Boppity, Hoppity , Skippity , Snerf 1 , Thig
 * Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass : Beautiful Day Monster ( Muppetry  )
 * One to One : Marvin
 * The Frog Prince : Robin the Frog ( Muppetry  ), Gawain
 * Saturday Night Live : The Mighty Favog, Food , Glig
 * The Muppet Show : Sex & Violence : Forcryingoutloud Bird, Pig , Purple Heap , Ruler , Theodore Roosevelt
 * The Muppet Show : Alien, Animal ( 1975 - 2000 ) , Baskerville the Hound ( episode 110 : Harvey Korman ) , Black Rooster , Boo Mortmorkinson , Blue Frackle ( episode 104 : Ruth Buzzi , episode 107 : Florence Henderson ) , Dancers , Doglion ( episode 211 : Dom DeLuise ) , Dough , Feather Boa Constrictor , Fozzie Amoeba , Fozzie Bear ( 1976 - 2000 ) , Frank , Fred , George the Janitor , Geri & the Atrics ( piano player ) , Gingerbread Man , Green Frackle ( episode 103 : Joel Grey ) , Gorgon Heap ( episode 103 , Episode 204 : Rich Little ) , Gramps , House 3 ( episode 119 : Vincent Price ) , Hugga Wugga , Male Koozebanian Creature , Marvin Suggs , Mary Louise ( Episode 204 : Rich Little ) , Mean Mama ( occasional ) , Merdlidop , Mildred Huxtetter ( " At the Dance " , Season 1 ) , Miss Piggy ( 1976 - 2002 ) , Rowlf the Dog ( assistant ) , Salzburg Sauerkraut Singer , Sam the Eagle ( 1975 - 2000 ) , Shark ( episode 402 : Crystal Gayle ) , Sheep Wolf , Slim Wilson ( Episode 322 : Roy Rogers & Dale Evans ) , The Snowths , The Swedish Chef ( hands only ) , The Swedish Pig
 * Muppet Meeting Films: Grump, Kent , Sam the Eagle ( 1975 - 2000 )
 * Emmet Otter ' s Jug Band Christ mas : Chuck Stoat, Alice Otter ( Muppetry  )
 * Christ mas Eve on Sesame Street : Bert ( 1969 - present ), Grover ( 1970 - present ) , & Cookie Monster ( 1969 - present )
 * The Muppet Movie : Miss Piggy ( 1976 - 2002 ), Fozzie Bear ( 1976 - 2000 ) , Animal ( 1975 - 2000 ) , Sam the Eagle ( 1975 - 2000 )
 * The Dark Crystal : Aughra ( Muppetry  ), SkekSil (  Muppetry  )
 * The Great Muppet Caper : Miss Piggy ( 1976 - 2002 ), Fozzie Bear ( 1976 - 2000 ) , Animal ( 1976 - 2002 ) , & Sam the Eagle ( 1975 - 2000 )
 * The Muppets Take Manhattan : Bert ( 1969 - present ), Grover ( 1970 - present ) , & Cookie Monster ( 1969 - present ) , Miss Piggy ( 1976 - 2002 ) , Fozzie Bear ( 1976 - 2000 ) , Animal ( 1975 - 2000 ) , Sam the Eagle ( 1975 - 2000 )
 * Follow That Bird : Bert ( 1969 - present ), Grover ( 1970 - present ) , & Cookie Monster ( 1969 - present )
 * Country Music with the Muppets : Lyle, Baskerville the Hound , Cows , Sheep & Rufus.
 * Labyrinth : The Wiseman ( Muppetry  only )
 * A Muppet Family Christ mas : Bert ( 1969 - present ), Grover ( 1970 - present ) , & Cookie Monster ( 1969 - present ) , Miss Piggy ( 1976 - 2002 ) , Fozzie Bear ( 1976 - 2000 ) , Animal ( 1975 - 2000 ) , Sam the Eagle ( 1975 - 2000 )
 * Muppet Vision 3D : Miss Piggy ( 1976 - 2002 ), Fozzie Bear ( 1976 - 2000 ) , Sam the Eagle ( 1975 - 2002 ) , : Whatnots
 * The Muppets at Walt Disney World : Miss Piggy ( 1976 - 2002 ), Fozzie Bear ( 1976 - 2000 ) , Animal ( 1975 - 2000 )
 * Jim Henson ' s Memorial Service : Himself / Fozzie Bear ( 1976 - 2000 )
 * The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson : Miss Piggy ( 1976 - 2002 ) & Fozzie Bear ( 1976 - 2000 )
 * The Muppet Christ mas Carol : Miss Piggy ( 1976 - 2002 ) ( as Emily Cratchit ), Fozzie Bear ( 1976 - 2000 ) ( as Fozziwig ) , Animal ( 1975 - 2000 ) , Sam the Eagle ( 1975 - 2000 ) , Vegetable Seller , Mr . Bitte
 * Muppet Treasure Island : Miss Piggy ( 1976 - 2002 ) ( as Benjamina Gunn ), Fozzie Bear ( 1976 - 2000 ) , ( as Squire Trelawney ) , Animal ( 1975 - 2000 ) , Sam the Eagle ( 1975 - 2000 ) ( as Samuel Arrow )
 * Muppets Tonight : The Lion, Miss Piggy ( 1976 - 2002 ) , Fozzie Bear ( 1976 - 2000 ) , Animal ( 1975 - 2000 ) , Sam the Eagle ( 1975 - 2000 )
 * The Animal Show : Sam the Eagle ( 1975 - 2000 ) ( 1 episode )
 * Sesame Street Stays Up Late ! : Bert ( 1969 - present ), Grover ( 1970 - present ) , & Cookie Monster ( 1969 - present ) &  Uncle Hank 
 *  The Adventures of Elmo in Grouch land  : Bert ( 1969 - present ), Grover ( 1970 - present ) , & Cookie Monster ( 1969 - present )
 * Muppets from Space: Miss Piggy ( 1976 - 2002 ), Fozzie Bear ( 1976 - 2000 ) , Animal ( 1975 - 2000 ) , Sam the Eagle ( 1975 - 2000 )
 * Muppet RaceMania: Miss Piggy ( 1976 - 2002 ), Fozzie Bear ( 1976 - 2000 ) , Animal ( 1975 - 2000 ) , Sam the Eagle ( 1975 - 2000 )
 * The Today Show : Miss Piggy ( 1976 - 2002 ) ( last time )
 * Elmo ' s Potty Time : Grover ( 1970 - present )

Trivia

 * Oz is right - handed.
 * Kermit asks the Wizard of Oz if he is related to Frank Oz in The Muppets ' Wizard of Oz.
 * Characters of Frank Oz ' s Muppeteer  veteran  Eric Jacobson  has voiced once or consistently are :


 * Miss Piggy ( MuppetFest ( 2001 ) - present )
 * Fozzie Bear ( It ' s a Very Merry Muppet Christ mas Movie ( 2002 ) - present )
 * Animal ( It ' s a Very Merry Muppet Christ mas Movie ( 2002 ) - present )
 * Sam the Eagle ( The Muppets ' Wizard of Oz ( 2005 ) - present )
 * Bert ( 1997 - present )
 * Grover ( 1998 - present )
 * Cookie Monster ( 2002 & 2005 )
 * Marvin Suggs ( The Muppets ( 2011 ) - present ( presumably ) )
 * Beautiful Day Monster ( The Muppets ( 2011 ) )
 * Grover 's Mommy ( A Celebration of Me, Grover ( 2004 ) )

Henson Projects

 * The Dark Crystal ( co - director with Jim Henson  ) ( 1982 )
 * The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show ( 1982 )
 * The Muppets Take Manhattan ( 1984 )

Non - Henson Films

 * Little Shop of Horrors ( 1986 )
 * Dirty Rotten Scoundrels ( 1988 )
 * What About Bob ? ( 1991 )
 * House Sitter ( 1992 )
 * The Indian in the Cupboard ( 1995 )
 * In & Out ( 1997 )
 * Bowfinger ( 1999 )
 * The Score ( 2001 )
 * The Stepford Wives ( 2004 )
 * Death at a Funeral ( 2007 )

Additional Credits

 * The Muppet Show ( 1976 ) ( creative consultant )
 * The Great Muppet Caper ( 1981 ) ( producer )
 * The Muppets Take Manhattan ( 1984 ) ( writer )
 * The Muppet Christ mas Carol ( 1992 ) ( executive producer )
 * Muppet Treasure Island (1996 ) ( executive producer )
 * Muppets Tonight ( 1996 ) ( executive consultant )

Awards & Honors
1974 1976 1979 1999
 * Daytime Emmy for Individual Achievement in Chil dren 's Programming for Sesame Street.
 * Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Chil dren 's Programming for Sesame Street.
 * Daytime Emmy for Individual Achievement in Chil dren 's Programming for Sesame Street.
 * American Comedy Awards Creative Artist Award presented by John Cleese