People are only just realizing the huge link between iconic characters Yoda and Miss Piggy – and it’s not obvious
FANS of two iconic TV and movie characters may be surprised to learn that one man is behind the voice of both Miss Piggy and Yoda.
Legendary Jim Henson Company puppeteer Frank Oz has brought many popular characters to life during his rich career, including Cookie Monster, Grover, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Sam the Eagle, and Bert.
Also the voice of the frog-like Jedi master, Oz, 78, was asked by The Guardian if he ever gets tired of "the endless terrible Yoda imitations."
“No, I’m used to it," he told the publication.
"But people don’t understand, anyone can do a voice. It’s not the voice – it’s the soul."
Oz's big career on the screen began after he was recruited while in college by The Muppets creator Henson, who saw him perform puppetry and asked him to come to New York and help on a new show.
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Puppets were a family tradition for Oz, whose father carved and performed with them while Oz's mom made their costumes.
He took up the tradition and performed as a teen before setting down a different path in college.
He studied journalism for six months before he was approached by Henson in 1963.
From there, his work flourished and in 1983 alone, Oz worked on many projects like Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Trading Places, and The Return of the Jedi.
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“Well, the person who really didn’t sleep was [Henson]," Oz said of his many projects in the years that followed.
"We were doing The Muppet Show and whenever we got a break, Jim would say: ‘You know, they’ve asked us to do the Queen’s Jubilee.'
"So, we’d do an extra performance here, another one there. I was a worker bee, but Jim really didn’t sleep, and anything he asked me to do, I’d put my heart and soul into it,” Oz said.
Henson died suddenly in 1990 at age 53 of streptococcal toxic shock syndrome.
Oz credits Henson with pushing him to take roles outside The Muppets franchise, and said it was Henson who recommended Oz to George Lucas for the voice of Yoda.
Oz explained to The Guardian how Yoda's iconic syntax came about: "I was just looking at the original script of The Empire Strikes Back the other day and there was a bit of that odd syntax in it, but also it had Yoda speaking very colloquially.
"So I said to George: ‘Can I do the whole thing like this?’ And he said: ‘Sure!’
"It just felt so right.”
Oz also directed beloved 80s and 90s comedies such as Little Shop of Horrors, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, What About Bob?, In and Out, and Bowfinger.
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He recently starred as a cameo actor in Knives Out and is also known for his appearances in 80s hits The Blues Brothers, Trading Places, and Spies Like Us.
“Whenever John needed a prick in a film, he called me,” Oz said.
