Frank Oz is an American actor, puppeteer and producer. He began his career as a puppeteer, performing the Muppet characters of Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear and Sam Eagle in The Muppet Show, he is known for the role of Yoda in the Star Wars series, providing the voice for the character in several films and television series. His work as a director includes Little Shop of Horrors, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, What About Bob?, In & Out, The Score, Death at a Funeral, an episode of the US TV series Leverage. Oz was born in England, his father was a window trimmer. His parents moved to England after fighting the Nazis with the Dutch Brigades. Oz's Dutch-Polish father was Jewish and his Flemish mother was a lapsed Catholic, they left England. Oz and his family moved to Montana in 1951, they settled in Oakland, California. Oz attended Oakland City College, he worked as an apprentice puppeteer at Children's Fairyland as a teenager with the Vagabond Puppets, a production of the Oakland Recreation Department, where Lettie Connell was his mentor.

Oz is known for his work as a puppeteer. His characters have included Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear and Sam Eagle on The Muppet Show, Grover, Cookie Monster and Bert on Sesame Street. In addition to performing a variety of characters, Oz has been one of the primary collaborators responsible for the development of the Muppets over the last 30 years. Oz has performed as a Muppet performer in over 75 productions including Labyrinth, video releases, television specials, as well as countless other public appearances, episodes of Sesame Street, other Jim Henson series, his puppetry work spans from 1963 to the present, although he semi-retired from performing his Muppets characters in 2001. In 2001, his characters were taken over by Eric Jacobson. Oz explained why he decided on leaving the Muppets in a 2007 interview: "One was that I was a dad, I have four kids; the reason was that I was asked to do stuff. And I'd done this for 30 years, I'd never wanted to be a puppeteer in the first place. I wanted to be a journalist, what I wanted to do was direct theatre and direct movies.

So it was more a slow progression, working with Jim. As an actor and a performer, you always feel limited because you're not the source of the creation, I wanted to be the source. I wanted to give my view of the world, and if I screw it up, I screw it up. And as a director, what you're showing is you're showing the audience your view of the world... I've always enjoyed, more than anything else in the world, bringing things to life, whether it's characters or actors in a scene or moments in movies. I've done so much with the puppets, that I'd always wanted to work with actors." Oz is known as the performer of Jedi Master Yoda from George Lucas' Star Wars series. Jim Henson had been contacted by Lucas about performing Yoda. Henson was preoccupied and instead suggested Oz to be assigned as chief puppeteer of the character, as well as a creative consultant. Oz performed the puppet and provided the voice for Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Oz provided the voice of the computer-generated imagery Yoda in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. The conversion to CGI was met with some criticism among fans, but Oz himself said, "exactly what should have done." Oz had a great deal of creative input on the character and was himself responsible for creating the character's trademark syntax. Oz returned to voice Yoda in the Disney theme park attractions, Star Tours–The Adventures Continue and Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge and in the Star Wars Rebels episodes, "Path of the Jedi" and "Shroud of Darkness". Inspiration as a filmmaker came to Oz upon a viewing of the Orson Welles film Touch of Evil, the director told Robert K. Elder in an interview for The Film That Changed My Life: "I think it opened up my view of film — that there's so much more that could be done. By breaking so many rules, he allowed other people to say,'Hey, I can maybe think of some stuff, too!' He just opened up the possibilities more for me.

That's what he did." Oz began his behind-the-camera work when he co-directed the fantasy film The Dark Crystal with long-time collaborator Jim Henson. The film featured the most advanced puppets created for a movie. Oz further employed those skills in directing 1984's The Muppets Take Manhattan, as well as sharing a screenwriting credit. In 1986, he directed his first film that did not involve Little Shop Of Horrors; the musical film starred Rick Moranis and Ellen Greene, as well as Vincent Gardenia, Steve Martin, Bill Murray, John Candy, Christopher Guest, Jim Belushi and a 15-foot-tall talking plant which at times required up to 40 puppeteers to operate. The film allowed Oz to show his ability to work with live actors and led to opportunities to direct films that did not include puppetry. Helming comedic productions, Oz went on to direct Dirty Rotten Scoundrels in 1988, starring Steve Martin and Michael Caine.

This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 1987. Alice in Chains Arcturus Asphyx Autopsy Burzum Cynic Danzig Darkthrone Deicide Disharmonic Orchestra Entombed Follow for Now Meshuggah Nirvana Nitro Phantom Blue Pink Cream 69 Primordial Rollins Band Skid Row Therion U. D. O. Winger Alcatrazz Sound Barrier Twisted Sister Udo Dirkshneider departs Accept citing management issues, the same year forms U. D. O. Bon Jovi headlined 1987's Monsters of Rock festival with Dio, Anthrax, W. A. S. P. and Cinderella. Dee Snider, Bruce Dickinson and Paul Stanley joined Bon Jovi to perform "We're an American Band" by Grand Funk. Motörhead's drummer Pete Gill leaves Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor returns. Mötley Crüe - Girls, Girls peaked at No. 2 in the Billboard charts. The show Headbangers Ball debuts on MTV on April 18, 1987. Bon Jovi's album Slippery. In December 1987, Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx suffers a near-fatal heroin overdose. Bassist Louiche Mayorga is replaced by Bob Heathcote. At the same time, the band becomes a five piece as they hire former No Mercy guitarist Mike Clark as their rhythm guitarist

Jeff Baron is an American novelist and screenwriter living in Manhattan. He is the author of I Represent Sean Rosen and Sean Rosen Is Not for Sale, published by Greenwillow/HarperCollins and the Electro-Pup series, which he developed via visits to elementary schools around the U. S, he has written for prime-time series on all the major TV networks, his play Visiting Mr. Green has been produced in 49 countries. Baron’s plays have been said to focus on family relationships and conflicts, friendship and the need for human connection, he was awarded the KulturPreis Europa. Baron grew up in suburban New Jersey and earned a film degree from Northwestern University and an M. B. A. from Harvard Business School. He spent several years working in the corporate world before transitioning to a life in the arts. Visiting Mr. Green, Jeff Baron's best-known play, starred Eli Wallach and ran for a year at Manhattan’s Union Square Theatre, it was nominated for a Molière and a Drama League Award. It won Best Play awards in Greece, Israel, Uruguay and Germany, the Kulturpreis Europa.

His newer plays have originated in South America and Europe. So This Is My Family - Mr. Green Part 2 Baron's sequel to Visiting Mr. Green, had its world premiere at the Avignon Theatre Festival in 2018; when I Was Five had its world premiere in 2013 at Teatro de Lucía in Lima, Peru. Brothers-in-Law had its first production in 2008 at Act II Playhouse outside of Philadelphia. Jeff received a TCG/ITI Grant to workshop his play Mr. & Mrs. God with Planet Art, a Croatian theatre company. Mother's Day, was produced in Australia and Brazil His one act play, Give'em an Inch, was commissioned and produced in Los Angeles. What Goes Around... is a series of comic plays that opened in New York in August, 2006. As the Author-in-Residence at Ardsley Middle School, Jeff Baron has mentored the entire seventh grade each year since 2013 in an original play writing program. In 2013, Greenwillow/HarperCollins published I Represent Sean Rosen. Sean Rosen, the first-person narrator, is a thirteen-year-old aspiring writer/screenwriter and idea man.

He has come up with a concept. He can’t get it sold because he needs an agent or a manager. Since nobody wants to represent a 13-year-old boy, he moves to plan B: he invents Dan Welch to represent him. Sean is entrepreneurial in a variety of ways, one of, that he creates podcasts on varying themes from donuts to hair for which he interviews people, he tells us about these in the novel and readers can see and hear them at www. SeanRosen.com The second book in the series Sean Rosen Is Not for Sale was published in 2014. Electro-Pup, a comedy-adventure about 11-year old Luke and his mind-reading dog Mojo, was developed by trying out chapters and discussing the story and characters with 2,000 second through fifth graders and their teachers and school librarians at 11 schools in five states. Jeff Baron has written episodes for American television series including The Tracey Ullman Show, Almost Grown, Sisters, A Year in the Life, Aaron's Way and The Disney Sunday Movie, he wrote and produced several projects for Nickelodeon.

His film The Bruce Diet won the CINE Golden Eagle award and was featured at film festivals around the world. His original screenplays were optioned by David Brown and Disney. Jeff directed Song of Martina, at Carnegie Hall, he was commissioned by the Los Angeles Opera, through a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, to write the libretto of a one-act opera, Escape. So This Is My Family - Mr. Green Part 2 When I Was Five Mr. & Mrs. God What Goes Around... Brothers-in-Law Bless Me, Father Mother's Day Visiting Mr. Green Give'em an Inch I Represent Sean Rosen Sean Rosen Is Not for Sale Electro-Pup Goodbye The Bruce Diet Jeff Baron's website Jeff Baron on IMDb Jeff Baron at the Internet Off-Broadway Database Visiting Mr. Green website Jeff Baron's books website Sean Rosen's website http://www.terra.com.br/istoegente/85/divearte/teatro_dia_das_maes.htm