Richard Frank Oznowicz (born May 25, 1944), better known as Frank Oz, is one of the foremost Muppet performers and Jim Henson's closest collaborator. Oz and Henson performs some of the Muppets' most famous teams -- Oz is Bert to Henson's Ernie and Thog to Henson's Kermit the Frog. On Sesame Street, he also performs Grover, Cookie Monster and Ken Strawberry; on The Muppet Show, he performs Fozzie Bear, Animal and Sam the Eagle.
Early Life[]
Richard "Frank" Oznowicz was born in England, spent parts of his childhood in Belgium and moved to America when he was five. The son of Puppeteers Isadore "Mike" Oznowicz and his wife Frances, with two other siblings, Young Frank was performing as part of the Oznowicz Family Marionettes troupe by age 12. Despite his background, "I don't have a love of Puppets", Oz explained in a 1987 interview "I did it as a means of expressions. I was able to express myself and please my parents. It was also safe to hide behind puppets because at that point i was a little shy."
Puppeteer Credits[]
The Muppet Show:[]
- Sam the Eagle (1975-2005)
- Fozzie Bear (1976-2001)
- Miss Piggy (1976-2001)
- Animal (1976-2001)
- Marvin Suggs (1976-2001)
- George the Janitor
- Snowths
Sesame Street:[]
- Cookie Monster (1969-2001)
- Bert (1969-2000)
- Grover (1970-1999)
- Lefty the Salesman
- Professor Hastings
- Tessie Twiddlebug
- Harvey Kneeslapper
- Prince Charming