Frank Oz – creator of Yoda, Cookie Monster, Miss Piggy, Fozzie – classic 1988 interview

Is there anyone more iconic to our generation than Frank Oz?

Frank Oz is a British-born American film director, actor, voice actor and puppeteer who is known for creating and performing the characters Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear in The Muppet Show, Cookie Monster, Bert and Grover in Sesame Street, and for directing films, including the 1986 Little Shop of Horrors remake and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

He is also the operator and voice of Yoda in the Star Wars film series.

via Wikipedia

You can listen to a classic interview with him from 1988 on NPR’s Fresh Air.

In the first half he talks about directing and making Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. In the second half he discusses his puppeteer career, including how he got started, created his characters, and Jim Henson.

It is available on the NPR article about the latest Muppet movie, which is also a great interview if you’re a Muppet fan (midway down).

If you just want the interview then WBUR has a link that is better and works on mobile devices.

 

My favorite Muppet - Fozzie

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