Frank Oz

 Frank   Oz  ( born on May 25th, 1944 a s  Richard Frank Oznowicz  ) , is 1 of the foremost Muppeteer s  in the whole Muppet business. He is Jim Henson  ' s  closest collaborator  as we l l a s  his   b e st friend . Oz &  Henson , together , performed some of the Muppets ' most famous team s - - Oz was the neat Bert to Henson  ' s  UN  t i d y Ernie , & Miss Piggy to  Henson  ' s Kermit t he Frog ; probably the mo s t famous pair ing.  Oz , o n  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 character s , 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 1 993 , 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 un breakable partnership that  Henson  & Oz had share d f o r 2 7 y ear s.

Early Years
Rich ard "  Frank  " Oznowicz was born in England, spent parts of his childhood in Belgium , & moved to A m e r i c a w hen he was 5. The son of puppet e e r s Isadore " Mike " Oznowicz & his wife Frances, with 2 sibling s , young Frank was performing as part of the Oznowicz Family Marionettes troupe by age 12. Although, despite this background , " I don ' t have a love of puppet s , " Oz explained in a 1987 inter view " I did it as a means of expression . I was able to express myself & p lease my parents . It was also safe to hide behind puppets be c ause at that point I w as a little shy . " He had no desire to go into puppeteering professionally : " I just did it as a hobby to g et some money - - I really wanted to be a journal ist . "

Beginning w / Henson
 Frank   Oz  1 st met Jim Henson  when he was 1 7, while attending the Puppeteers o f A m e r i c a festival in California. His 1 st impression of Henson  was a s " this very quiet, shy guy who did these absolutely ****** amazing puppets that were totally brand new & fresh , that had never been done be f o r e . " At age 1 9 , 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 appearance s & later on the Jimmy Dean Show. It was here that Jimmy Dean actually i n t r o d u c e d h im a s "  Frank   Oz  ..., " mumbling the last part o f his name. T hu s, Oz began using the shortened form of his name he ' s known by today.

Oz also worked on commercials, replac ing Jim  ' s wife , Jane Henson a s key assistant. Henson dubbed a ll the voice s, &  he  & Oz would alternate when performing such buddy duo s a s 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. T his w a s his 1 s t, & 1 of his  very   few  , experience s , as a full - bodied puppet performer , & 1 which he really didn ' t re lish : " I hate d i t . I hated doing it totally . Jim  knew I hate d it . I think  he  relished i t . The Delbert the La Choy Dragon was a ****** . I was totally blind in t here . I always hated being inside characters , but I was the main performer & that was my j ob. "

SESAME STREET
Eventually, on  SESAME STREET  , Frank Oz had originated the character s Cookie Monster , Grover , & Bert , & he performed them exclusively for almost 30 years. Oz, during this time , performed a great number of minor character s , including Prince Charming , Left y the Sales man , & Harvey Kneeslapper. He was offered the role of BIG BIRD al s o, but because of his experience as the La Choy Dragon , Frank immediately turned the role down.

Fran Brill, commenting on his performing habit s , 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  s et , apparently , 4 days a year , performing nearly 15 sketches with his characters during those mere four days. A s of 20 11, he is still taping appearances during a limited schedule for new segments , 1 day a y e ar. Even despite this, to help keep Oz ' s main characters visible Eric Jacobson  is currently the principal  perform er  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 wit h [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 43 12 , & finally , Oz will be heard in the Downtown Abbey parody  called Upside Downton Abbey , a sketch scheduled to appear on the  show  in 2 013.

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 star s. He perform ed Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear , Animal , & Sam the Eagle , & 2 n d a r y character s George t he Janitor , & Marvin Suggs.

Fozzie Bear was originally intended to be his main character, & Miss Piggy was originally meant to only be a supporting character. I n 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 ucer s realized Piggy was more than just a 1 - joke character, & had more star potential than Fozzie , she became a major part of the Muppet ca st , & 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 un rehearse d.

In addition to perform ing, Frank Oz also wrote the songs " T h e Rhym ing Song " & " Jam bor ee ". He was also credited on The Muppet Show as a creative consultant.

Frank Oz & Jim Henson
" Watching Jim  ' s Ernie teas ing Frank Oz ' s Bert & driving him to distraction was to witness unadulterated g lee ! " - Caroly Wilcox It was w / many character s on which the 2 collaborate d. Together Jim Henson  & Frank Oz made such memorable pairing s a s Ernie & Bert, as well as Kermit the Frog & Miss Piggy , & the Swedish Chef. 3 other character s that Oz performed, Fozzie Bear , Grover & Cookie Monster , would play off of Kermit the Frog on numerous occasion s , & there was also Lefty the Salesman , who tried to fool poor Ernie o n sever al occasion s. Ernie & Cookie Monster were also paired up multiple times. Other pairings of the team ' s character s include Rowlf the Dog & Fozzie Bear, along with Rowlf sometimes paired with Miss Piggy. Kermit also had to listen to another of Frank ' s character s, 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 Elec tric May hem to perform a song on a Muppet Show epi sode, Henson  ' s [http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Dr._Teeth D r. Teeth ] & Oz ' s Animal' were always positioned right next to each other on the band stand, even  after '' Jim  died. Al so, in episode 3 02 , 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 only performed in t hat segment. Also, as in the ca se of Kermit & Piggy , on several occasio ns , Henson  ' s characters usually be came victim t o Oz ' s character s , & , 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 t he 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 , respective ly , 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 " T h at ' s when I knew, he  love d me &  I  loved  him  . "

[http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Michael_K._Firth Mich ael 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 o f Jim Henson  & Frank Oz . They were a comedy duo that is up there wit h 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 ' character s & play off them with their character s . "

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 t o a part o f m e, & always w ill b e.

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
 * Kermit the Frog / The Encyclopedia Salesman
 * 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 ter s i n 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 Clue s )
 * 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 / Mr s . 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 i n " 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
 * Hippie / Fuzzyface
 * 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 19 80, George Lucas contacted Henson  about a puppet character he wanted for his next Star Wars film , The Empire Strikes Back , a creature know n a s Yoda. Since Henson  was p r e - 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 grizzle d or surly official. This began with An American Werewolf in London & extended to T he Blue s Brothers,  Trading Place s  , Sp ie s Like U s ,  Innocent Blood  , & most recent ly ,  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. Monster s, I n c. ] & the robot in Columbia Pictures ' Zathura''.

Directorial Career
Frank Oz made his [ Category:Directors 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  ) s aid , ' Do you want to direct Dark Crystal w ith 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 , ' Be cause it would b e better ' . & that ' s all that mattered .  He  didn ' t care about the credit .  He  knew that he had some weaknesses & he knew that I h ad some strength s , & so we worked together that way . "

A few years later, Oz directed The Muppet s Ta ke Manhattan. According t o 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 t his , but the point is that  Jim  allowed me to rewrite i t & 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 s t no n - 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 talk i n g t o you ... But you get raw , nake d , savage power as a  director  & a ll of a sudden you t a l k a l o t . "

Follow ing the film ' s success, Oz became an i n - 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 , T h e Score , & in 2 007 , 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 f e w day s o n  SESAME STREET  every sea son, & would often find time to p e r form in  major  ( & sometimes minor ) Muppet production s , though the producers often had to work around his schedule ( & in some cases , other performers  performed his character s & he looped the dialogue later . Such was the case during many of the filming days for Muppet Treasure Island & Muppet s from S p ace. )

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  direct ing. Immediately following Muppets from Space, all his main Muppet Show characters have been handed over t o Eric Jacobson  , who has also mostly taken over Bert & Grover , while  David Rudman  has become the new performer for Cookie Monster. Although, a s David  &  Eric  have once s aid , Oz usually comes in 4 or 5 t i m es a year & w i l l d o a " Bert D ay " , " Grover D ay " , " Cookie Day " , e tc.

In a 2007 interview, Oz explained why he distanced himself from the Muppets : There were a lot of reasons. 1 was that I w as a dad, I have 4 kids. The reason was that I was constantly ask e d t o d o stuff. & also, I had done this for 30 year s , & I had never wanted to be a puppeteer in the 1 st place. I wanted to be a journal i st, & really what I wanted to d o was direct theatre & direct movie s.

So it was a slow progression, working with Jim  , but I felt limited. As an act or & a performer, you feel limited because you ' re not the source for the creation , & I wanted to be t he source. I wanted to be the g uy & show my view of t h e world. & if I screw it up, then I screw i t u p , 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 w h y, 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 actor s. "

In a 2000 inter v iew, Oz said , " I ' ve made a policy over the last 15 years of not having any pictures with my character s & I , at all , in the same shot . That is because , as a direct or  , I can walk on a film for 1 8 h o u r s a d ay f o r a y e a r - - work my ass off - - & people will see i t & s a y " A h , y eah , that ' s n ice. That w as a good film ", Then they see 1 picture o f me & 1 of my character s , & they g o ape**** . They 'll freak out & say , " You do t hat character ! " The power o f t h e Muppet s, & the popularity of these characters , is so iconic in peo ple 's live s , that I've had to distance myself fr om it public l y . "

In addition to not posing for pictures with his character s, Frank Oz also refuses to talk in his character voices on request. His reasoning for this is that the character s are too special t o him. F o r him, to do a voice on command is akin to performing a parlor trick , & that the character exist s 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 t hat as note d , he h a d retire d from Muppet performing. In Fall 2 011, when speaking of the early script of t he 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 sour puss & hurt t he movie . "

Oz stated in the same interview t hat :

" Working wit h Jim  & the Muppet s w as very exciting . . . I feel so deeply privileged to be part of i t . But when you work for 30 year s on something, you wanna do some thing else . "

Oz 's quote about being dissatisfied with the movie 's script was soon publicize d, picked up by s eve r a l [http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/The_United_States_of_America U. S. ] website s & blogger s, combined with unsourced claim s that some of the film ' s Muppeteers  were al so un happy 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 state d ;

" 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 t h e 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 b it . So I ' m happy that peo ple a r e happy . " "

Muppeteer Credits

 * Oz ' s primary Muppet character s :


 * Cookie Monster :  SESAME STREET  Season 1 ( 19 6 9 ) - present


 * David Rudman :  2001 - present
 * Bert :  SESAME STREET  Episode 0001 ( 1 9 6 9 ) - present


 *  Eric Jacob son  : 1997 - present
 * Grover :  SESAME STREET  Season 2 ( 1 970 ) - present


 *  Eric Jacob son  : 199 8 - present
 * Miss Piggy : T he Muppet Show ( 1 9 7 6 ) - The Today Show ( 2002 )


 *  Eric Jacob son  : Muppet Fest ( 2 00 1 ) - present
 * Animal : The Muppet Show : Sex & Violence ( 1 975 ) - Muppet RaceMania ( 2000 )


 *  Eric Jacob son  : It ' s a Very Merry Muppet Chris t mas Movie ( 2 0 0 2 ) - present )
 * Sam t he Eagle : The Muppet Show : Sex & Violence ( 1 975 ) - Muppet RaceMania ( 2000 )


 *  Eric Jacob son  : The Muppets ' Wizard o f Oz ( 2005 ) - present )
 * Fozzie Bear : T he Muppet Show ( 1 9 7 6 ) - Muppet Race Mania ( 2 000 )


 *  Eric Jacob son  : It ' s a Very Merry Muppet Chris t mas Movie ( 2 0 0 2 ) - present
 * Commercials : Delbert the La Choy Dragon ( body ), The Southern Colonel ( assistant )
 *  SE SAME STREET  : Aladdin, Alistair Cookie , As I Was Going to St . Ives g i r l , The Barber , Bart , Baskerville the Hound , Beautiful Day Monster , Bert ( 1 9 6 9 - present ) , Betty Lou ( occasion all y ) , Bruce Rumpelstiltskin , The Cat , Carson , Charlie , Cloud ( in " Here I s Your Life " ) , Consider Your self girl & boy , Clucky Luciano , Cookie Monster ( 1 9 6 9 - present ) , Count von Count ' s Bats , Do c Holiday , Dr . Rain brain , E nd , Farmer Frankie , Fat Blue " Fat Cat " perform er , Frances Oznowicz , Grover ( 1970 - present ) , Grover ' s Mommy ( 19 70 s ) , 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 ( 1 9 71 ) , Lucy Jones , Mailman , Mother Goose ( Any thing Muppet )M r . Draper , Mrs . Rooney , Old King Cole ' s B a n d Lavender fiddle r & Fat Blue saxophone player , The Old Woman Who Lives in a Shoe ( " Sesame Street New s Flash " ) , Parker Piper , The Pied Piper , a pineapple from " Bi ling u al Fruit Song " , Pinocchio , Poppa Piper , Porter Piper , Prince Charming , Princess Penelope , Professor Hastings , Pumpkin Anything Muppet doctor from " The Peo ple in Yo ur Neighbor hood " , Pumpkin Anything Muppet woman from " I Want t o Hold Your Ear " , Purple Anything Muppet fe m a le b ack - up singer from " Mahna Mahna " , Rocky ' s Mother , Rosemary , Sad Man , Sally Screamer , Scudge ( 1 9 69 ) , Sis ter ( album s on l y ) , The Tallest Person in the Kingdom , Smilin ' Jack , Snow White ( 1971 ) , T he Square , Susie , T - Shirt Sales man , The Smallest Person in the Kingdom , Tessie Twiddlebug , Tooth , The Tortoise ( 1 971 ) , The Wick e d 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 S witch : Boppity, Hoppity , Skippity , Snerf 1 , Thig
 * Herb Alpert & t h e Tijuana Brass : Beautiful Day Monster ( Muppetry  )
 * One to One : Marvin
 * The Frog Prince : Robin the Frog ( Muppet r y  ), Gawain (  Muppet r y  & voice )
 * Saturday Night Live : The Mighty Fa vog, 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 1 10 : 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 - 2 0 0 0 ) , Frank , Fred , George t he Janitor ,  Ge ri  & t he Atrics ( piano play e r ) , Gingerbread Man , Green Frackle ( episode 103 : Joel Grey ) , Gorgon Heap ( episode 103 , Episode 2 04 : Rich Little ) , Gramps , Hou se 3 ( episode 119 : Vincent Price ) , Hugga Wugga , Male Koozebanian Creature , Marvin Suggs , Mary Lou ise ( Episode 2 0 4 : Rich Little ) , Mean Mama ( occasion all y ) , Merdlidop , Mildred Hux tet ter ( " A t t h e Dance " , Sea s on 1 ) , Miss Piggy ( 1 976 - 2 0 0 2 ) , Rowlf the Dog ( assis t a n t ) , Salzburg Sauerkraut Singer , Sam the Eagle ( 1 9 7 5 - 2 0 0 0 ) , Shark ( episode 402 : Crystal Gayle ) , Sheep Wolf , Slim Wilson ( Epi sode 3 2 2 : Roy Rogers & Dale Evans ) , The Snowth s , The Swedish Chef ( h and s on l y ) , The Swedish Pig
 * Muppet Meeting Films : Grump, Kent , Sam t he 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 - 2 00 2 ), Fozzie Bear ( 1 976 - 2 0 00 ) , Animal ( 19 7 5 - 2000 ) , Sam the Eagle ( 1975 - 2000 )
 * The Dark Crystal : Aughra ( Muppetry  ), SkekSil (  Muppetry  )
 * The Great Muppet Caper : Miss Piggy ( 1 9 7 6 - 2 0 0 2 ), Fozzie Bear ( 1 9 7 6 - 2 0 0 0 ) , Animal ( 1 9 7 5 - 2 0 00 ) & Sam the Eagle ( 1975 - 2000 )
 * T he Muppet s Take Manhattan : Bert ( 1 969 - present ), Grover ( 1 9 70 - pre sent ) & Cookie Monster ( 1969 - present ) , Miss Piggy ( 1 976 - 2 002 ) , Fozzie Bear ( 1976 - 2 0 0 0 ) , Animal ( 1975 - 2 0 00 ) , Sam the Eagle ( 1975 - 2000 )
 * Follow That Bird : Bert ( 1 9 6 9 - present ), Grover ( 1 9 7 0 - pre sen t ) , & Cookie Monster ( 1969 - present )
 * The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Year s : Bert ( 1969 - pre sent ), Grover ( 1970 - present ) , Mi ss Piggy ( 1 9 7 6 - 2 0 0 2 ) , Fozzie Bear ( 1976 - 2000 )
 * Country Music with the Muppet s : Lyle, Baskerville the Hound , Cows , Sheep & Rufus.
 * Labyrinth : The Wiseman ( Muppetry  only )
 * A Muppet Family Chris t mas : Bert ( 1 9 69 - present ), Grover ( 1 9 7 0 - pre sent ) , & Cookie Monster ( 1969 - pre sent ) , Mi ss Piggy ( 1 9 7 6 - 2 0 0 2 ) , Fozzie Bear ( 1976 - 2 0 0 0 ) , Animal ( 1 9 75 - 2 0 0 0 ) , Sam the Eagle ( 1975 - 2000 )
 * Muppet Vision 3D : Mi ss Piggy ( 1 9 7 6 - 2 0 0 2 ), Fozzie Bear ( 1 9 7 6 - 2000 ) , Sam the Eagle ( 1975 - 2002 ) , : Whatnots
 * The Muppets at Walt Disney World : Mi ss Piggy ( 1 9 7 6 - 2 0 0 2 ), Fozzie Bear ( 1976 - 2 0 0 0 ) , Animal ( 1 9 75 - 2000 )
 * Jim Henson ' s Memorial Service : Himself / Fozzie Bear ( 1976 - 2000 )
 * The Muppets Celebrate  JIM   HENSON  : Miss Piggy ( 1976 - 2 00 2 ) & Fozzie Bear ( 1976 - 2000 )
 * The Muppet Christ mas Carol : Miss Piggy ( 1976 - 2 00 2 ) ( a s Emily Cratchit ), Fozzie Bear ( 19 76 - 2 0 00 ) ( as Fozziwig ) , Animal ( 1 9 7 5 - 2000 ) , Sam the Eagle ( 19 75 - 2000 ) , Vegetable Seller , M r . Bitte
 * Muppet Treasure Island : Miss Piggy ( 1 9 76 - 2 00 2 ) ( as Benjamina Gunn ), Fozzie Bear ( 1 9 7 6 - 2 0 0 0 ) ( as Squire Trelawney ) , Animal ( 19 7 5 - 2000 ) , Sam the Eagle ( 1975 - 2000 ) ( as Samuel Arrow )
 * Muppets Tonight : The Lion, Miss Piggy ( 1 976 - 2 0 0 2 ) , Fozzie Bear ( 1976 - 2 0 0 0 ) , Animal ( 1 9 75 - 2000 ) , Sam the Eagle ( 1975 - 2000 )
 * T he Animal Show : Sam the Eagle ( 1 9 7 5 - 2 0 0 0 ) ( 1 episode )
 *  SESAME   STREET  Stays Up Late ! : Bert ( 1969 - present ), Grover ( 1970 - present ) & Cookie Monster ( 1 9 6 9 - 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 ( 1 9 7 6 - 2 0 0 0 ) , Animal ( 1 9 75 - 2 0 0 0 ) , Sam the Eagle ( 1975 - 2000 )
 * Muppet RaceMania : Miss Piggy ( 1 97 6 - 2002 ), Fozzie Bear ( 1 976 - 2 000 ) , Animal ( 1 9 7 5 - 2 0 0 0 ) , Sam the Eagle ( 1975 - 2000 )
 * The Today Show : Miss Piggy ( 1 9 76 - 2002 ) ( last time )
 *  Elmo  ' s Potty Ti me : Grover ( 1 970 - present )

Trivia

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


 * Miss Piggy : Muppet F e st ( 2 0 0 1 ) - present
 * Fozzie Bear : It ' s a Very Merry Muppet Chris t mas Movie ( 2 002 ) - present
 * Animal : It ' s a Ve ry Merry Muppet Chris t mas Movie ( 2 00 2 ) - present
 * Sam the Eagle : The Muppet s ' Wizard of Oz ( 2 005 ) - present )
 * Bert ( 1997 - present )
 * Grover ( 1998 - present )
 * Cookie Monster ( 200 2 & 2 005 )
 * Marvin Suggs : The Muppets ( 2011 )
 * Beautiful Day Monster : T he Muppet s ( 2011 )
 * Grover ' s Mom my : A Celebration o f  M E ,  Grove r  ( 2 00 4 ) )

Henson Project s

 * The Dark Crystal ( c o - direct or  with  Jim Henson  ) ( 1982 )
 * The Fantastic  Miss   Piggy  Show ( 1982 )
 * The Muppets Take Manhattan ( 19 84 )

Non - HENSON  Films

 * Little Shop of Horrors ( 1 9 86 )
 *  DIRTY   ROTTEN  Scound rel s ( 1 988 )
 * W h a t About Bob ? ( 1991 )
 * House Sitter ( 199 2 )
 * The Indian in the Cupboard ( 199 5 )
 * In & Out ( 1997 )
 * Bowfinger ( 1999 )
 * The Score ( 200 1 )
 * The Step ford Wives ( 2004 )
 * Death at a Funeral ( 2007 )

Additional Credits

 * The Muppet Show ( 1976 ) ( creative consultant )
 * T h e Great Muppet Caper ( 1 9 8 1 ) ( produce r  )
 * The Muppets Take Manhattan ( 19 84 ) ( writer  )
 * The Muppet Christ mas Carol ( 1992 ) ( executive produce r  )
 * Muppet Treasure I s la nd ( 1 996 ) ( executive pro duce r  )
 * Muppets Tonight ( 1 9 9 6 ) ( executive consultant )

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

External l in k s

 * FRANK OZ on IMDb