Frank Oz & His Muppets

[Pug Lover]

It seems that a lot of the muppet characters originally operated by Frank Oz are kind of on the hyperactive side.Bert was pretty hot tempered{though I would be too if I lived with Ernie}.Grover was quite hyper and seemed easily upset or scared.Put Cookie Monster into a pile of cookies and he'll just go bonkers eating them all.Harvey Kneeslapper appeared to be famous for his ongoing hysterical laughter.Miss Piggy seems violantly high strung.Animal...well...it's perfectly obvious how he got his name.I wonder if Frank Oz had a high strung personality?Perhaps that may have had an effect on his characterizations of the muppets that he regularly performed.Maybe the personalities of the muppeteers themselves tend to show in the muppets which they perform.

 

[ilovethemuppets]

Frank Oz

From what I have heard Frank Oz as Brian Henson said is, "One of the kindest person I know" -"Muppet Treasure Island" in "Tail Behind the Tail" It was something to that affect, but he also said that, "Once Frank gets puts a muppet on he is one of the most aggressive people I know." He was talking about how "Frank becomes that why because in the muppeteer world you have to show up everyone else to get ahead or become a star. Brian didn't mean anything bad by it "that's just how it is."
I hope this helps answers your question.

 

[JaniceFerSure]

I love Frank Oz.Not only for his creative sense of humor,infectious personalities he gives his Muppets(yes most of them have neurotic tempers & tendencies),but how his voice can change in octave(example higher Miss Piggy,medium Yoda,hoarse Hugga Wugga).In the special on Jim Henson,Frank stated his parents are Dutch and Flemish and he was used to a vocal household(where as Jim Henson was quiet). I love his little film cameos,Spies Like Us(monitor during test),and Trading Places(cop)(I just read on IMDB played same chr. in Blues Brothers movie too).I was just thinking yesterday,that to me Frank & Jim were soul mates,as friends.They totally completed each other.They both had that dry,sarcastic dark sense of humor & they played off each other perfectly.

 

[BornBlue]

Well, your theory is okay, but you neglected any mention of Fozzie, who is gentle and not high strung at all. A comedian who really just wants to be accepted.

 

[Pug Lover]

Yes!Fozzie is indeed an exception.In some ways Sam The Eagle is another exception.Though Sam is slightly higher strung,he's mainly a dead serious character.

 

[JaniceFerSure]

Yup,its true Fozzie wasn't high-strung(I didn't say all Oz's chrs. were high-strung).Some have short tempers like Bert & Piggy,some are shy like Fozzie,some are smart like Sam the Eagle,Yoda,Aughra & Grover with his little quirks.Neurotic doesn't necessarily mean high-strung,lol.The majority of Muppets want to be accepted for whom and what they are,just like us humans.Sorry if I offended you,I meant neurotic(emotional feelings) in a positive way.