Frank Oz is a popular American actor. He is also a talented film maker and puppeteer. He is renowned for his appearance in many puppet shows and films.
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Frank Oz was born in the year 1944 on May 25th. He grew up in England, Hereford. He was the only child of his parents Isidore Oznowicz and Frances. As a child, he has received both Flemish and Jewish culture as his parents belonged to different cultural backgrounds. Both his parents were puppeteers by profession and as a child, he was very fascinated by it. When he was only six months old, he moved to Belgium with his parents and stayed there for five years.
He attended an elementary school in Belgium and after that, in the year 1951, he went to Montana with his parents. He finally settled in Oakland, California with his family. His parents worked well to earn a good livelihood but the profession was not much popular. He went to the Oakland Technical High School. From early childhood, he had a lot of interest in writing. He was a great story writer and also had a passion for script writing. He took part in many creative writing competitions in his school, which made him very popular among the students. Later, he also started writing scripts for the drama programmes in his school.
He had earned a lot of praises from his teachers and friends for his talents as a scriptwriter. This sowed in him the interest to become a filmmaker in the future. He had also learned the puppet show from his parents and had also appeared on the stage as a puppeteer. While he was still in the high school, he went to the Children’s Fairyland to work part time as a puppeteer. He worked there with the Vagabond Puppets. His mentor Lettie Connell was very much impressed with his work and wanted him to pursue this career. After completing his high school education, he went to the Oakland City College to pursue his bachelor's education.
After completing his university education, he began his career as a puppeteer. He worked with Muppets which was owned by Jim Henson. As a puppeteer, he is very creative and has created several puppet characters such as Fozzie Bear, Sam Eagle, Miss Piggy, Animal. When he was working on the Sesame Street, he created many characters like Bert, Grover, Monster, Cookie.
He has earned a lot of popularity as a director. The first film he directed was ‘The Dark Crystal’ which had the theme of the puppets. In the year 1986, he directed his first movie Little Shop of Horrors. In the film The Blues Brothers, he appeared as an actor in the role of Prison Storeroom Keeper. He was first married to Robin Garsen but the marriage did not continue for long and the couple got divorced. Later, he got married to Victoria Labalme and also has three sons with her. Now, he resides in Manhattan and is leading a good life with his family.
Last Modified: Mar 8, 2020
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