Faz Fazakas | |
|---|---|
| Born | Franz Fazakas (1918-04-05)April 5, 1918 Essex County, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | September 28, 2013(2013-09-28) (aged 95) Olivebridge, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Puppeteer |
Franz "Faz" Fazakas (April 5, 1918 – September 28, 2013) was an American puppeteer, engineer, and special effects designer, best known for his work withThe Muppets.[1][2] He is the eponym ofFozzie Bear, for whom he created the puppet's ear-wiggling effects.[3] Fazakas was the director of electronic and mechanical design for the television showFraggle Rock.[4]
Fazakas was born in 1918 to Arpard and Donelda Fazakas.[5] He did not complete high school. He was a private in the Army during World War II.[6] He worked as an organ builder inOrange, New Jersey, before joining Berkeley Marionettes in New York, occasionally performing on Broadway.[7] He joined up with Jim Henson to work with the Muppets in 1972.[4] He was married to Eleanor Louise Jewett and the couple had two children. He is the great-uncle of musicianTanya Donelly.[8]
He helped design a radio control system to move the Muppets so they would not all have to be manipulated by hand.[1] This control system was used on movies such asThe Dark Crystal andLabyrinth. This system, called the Henson Performance Control System, won the 1992 Scientific and EngineeringAcademy Award.[9] Versions of this system were what allowedKermit the Frog to ride a bike and Emmet Otter to row a boat.[10][11] Jim Henson called Fazakas “one of the true geniuses of the world.”[10] His mechanical work on the eyes and facial movements of longtime Muppets such asBig Bird andSweetums gave both characters more emotional range.[12]