Frank Oz

Frank Oz (born Richard Frank Oznowicz on May 25, 1944) is an actor, puppeteer, and director. He was born in Hereford, England, but moved to California with his parents when he was five years old.

Oz performed the voice of Yoda in five of the six Star Wars films, with the exception being Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which Yoda does not appear. Oz also puppeteered the character in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, and Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. He also performed the voice of Yoda for Return of the Ewok and the 2003 MTV Movie Awards. Archived sound of Oz performing the character was used for the video games LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game, LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, and LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga. Oz stated at the Revenge of the Sith DVD press conference in 2005 that he would be involved with the Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series, however, in a 2007 interview with Aintitcoolnews.com, he denied any involvement.

He has appeared as either Yoda, himself, or both, in the following documentaries:


 * SPFX: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
 * Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi (1983)
 * From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga (1985)
 * George Lucas: Heroes, Myths and Magic (1993)
 * The Beginning: Making Episode I (2001)
 * Films Are Not Released, They Escape (2002)
 * From Puppets to Pixels: Digital Characters in Episode II (2002)
 * Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy (2004)
 * When Star Wars Ruled the World (2004)
 * Star Wars: Feel the Force (2005)

Although well known for the role, Oz refuses to attend fan conventions or imitate the character's voice outside of Star Wars, out of his respect for the role.

Outside of Star Wars, Frank Oz is notable for his work with Jim Henson's Muppets and in film directing. He performed the memorable Muppet characters Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Sam the Eagle, Bert, Grover and Cookie Monster; and has directed several additional films...including 1989's Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, which co-starred Ian McDiarmid.