Frank Oz

Frank Richard Oznowicz was born in Hereford, England to puppeteers Frances and Isidore Oznowicz. His family moved to Montana in 1951, eventually settling in Oakland, California. As a teenager, he worked as an apprentice puppeteer at Children's Fairyland amusement park. He is one of the primary puppeteers responsible for the development of 'Jim Henson' (qv)'s _Sesame Street (1969)_ (qv) and _The Muppet Show (1976)_ (qv) as well as over 75 other Muppet productions. 'George Lucas' (qv) originally contacted Henson to play the part of Yoda in _Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)_ (qv), but he recommended Oz for the part instead. He developed the character's trademark syntax, returning to voice and puppet the Jedi Master in _Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)_ (qv) and _Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)_ (qv).Oz voiced the computer-generated Yoda in _Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)_ (qv) and _Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)_ (qv), supporting the transition of the character's rendering to digital. In 2011, the Blu-Ray edition of The Phantom Menace replaced the puppet Yoda with CGI to match the other prequel films.He began a career of behind-the-camera puppet and live action filmmaking by co-directing _The Dark Crystal (1982)_ (qv) with Henson. He went on to direct _The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)_ (qv), _Little Shop of Horrors (1986)_ (qv), _Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)_ (qv), _What About Bob? (1991)_ (qv), _The Indian in the Cupboard (1995)_ (qv), _Bowfinger (1999)_ (qv), _The Score (2001)_ (qv), _The Stepford Wives (2004)_ (qv) and _Death at a Funeral (2007)_ (qv).::Travis Brainerd