Frank Oz
Frank Oz
Frank Ozis an English-born American filmmaker, puppeteer, and actor. His career began as a puppeteer, where he performed the Muppet characters of Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear in The Muppet Show, and Cookie Monster, Bert, and Grover in Sesame Street. He is also known for being the puppeteer and voice of Yoda in the Star Wars films...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPuppeteer
Date of Birth25 May 1944
CityHereford, England
CountryUnited States of America
I'm not an art director; I'm just not. I've always been somebody who has a sensibility that I hope is the same sensibility of others.
I've rewritten a lot of the scripts I've done. 'Little Shop Of Horrors' was a complete rewrite, but I didn't touch the dialogue. Essentially, I'm a very good editor.
What I remember most about the 'Road' movies is my enjoyment at watching the two characters sparring with each other. But more important than that was my feeling that Hope and Crosby were enjoying the sparring, too.
I was born in Hereford, England, in 1944. We moved when they had an opportunity to get a visa, about 1950. My dad always thought Europe was a bit too small for him. He wanted to see the United States... The typical immigrant story. He wanted a better life for his children, too. He always tried to get the visa, and it didn't come up.
I have no idea what a British sensibility or a British sense of humor is. I have no concept of what that is. I have no concept of what American sensibility is. I was born in Great Britain, but I was only there for six months, and we moved to Belgium, where I grew up.
Hope and Crosby made seven 'Road' movies, starting in 1940 with 'Road to Singapore.' The movies were always about Crosby and Hope fleeing America and finding Dorothy Lamour in some exotic location. Bob's character was cocky and cowardly; Bing's character was smooth and unruffled. They were great characters - lousy, lovable guys.
I wouldn't like to be that famous, I value my privacy. Mind you, Miss Piggy enjoys every moment of it. If it were not for me, she would spend all her time in the limelight.
In order to be a star performer you have to have someone to play against.
Always two there are, a master and an apprentice.
Well, Hollywood isn't made up of individual studio heads anymore. It's made of corporations. And corporations are looking for the bottom line. They don't want to take chances. They want the money back for stockholders.
I don't buy diamonds, I don't buy cars, but I enjoy travelling. I'm not a very possessive person as far as things go.
I look back on my work and I think, 'Oh, why didn't I do that differently?'
The more work I do, the more important it is to work with people I like - who are very talented.
There's a side of him that's extremely private, where he just wants to be by himself.