Faz Fazakas Explained

Faz Fazakas
Birth Date:April 5, 1918
Birth Place:Essex County, New Jersey
Death Place:Olivebridge, New York
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 with The Muppets.[1] [2] He is the namesake for Fozzie Bear for whom he created the puppet's ear-wiggling effects.[3] Fazakas was the director of electronic and mechanical design for the television show Fraggle Rock.[4]

Muppet technology

He helped design a radio control system to move the Muppets so they would not all have to be manipulated by hand. This control system was used on movies such as The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. This system, called the Henson Performance Control System, won the 1992 Scientific and Engineering Academy Award.[5] Versions of this system were what allowed Kermit the Frog to ride a bike and Emmet Otter to row a boat.[6] [7] Jim Henson called Fazakas “one of the true geniuses of the world.” His mechanical work on the eyes and facial movements of longtime Muppets such as Big Bird and Sweetums gave both characters more emotional range.[8]

Early life

Fazakas was born in 1918 to Arpard and Donelda Fazakas.[9] He did not complete high school. He was a Private in the Army during World War II.[10] He worked as an organ builder in Orange, New Jersey before joining Berkeley Marionettes in New York, occasionally performing on Broadway.[11] He joined up with Jim Henson to work with the Muppets in 1972. He was married to Eleanor Louise Jewett and the couple had two children. He is the great uncle of musician Tanya Donelly.[12]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Epstein . Sonia Shechet . Sloan Science & Film . Sloan Science & Film . 2017-06-30 . 2020-07-03.
  2. Web site: Franz Fazakas . FamilySearch . United States Social Security Death Index . 3 July 2020.
  3. Web site: Hogan . Michael . The 10 best fictional bears . The Guardian . 2014-04-25 . 2020-07-03.
  4. News: Hicks . Wessley . No Doozer Makes a Move Without Faz Fazakas . 3 July 2020 . The Gazette . May 28, 1983 . Montréal, QC.
  5. Web site: The Henson Board of Directors . The Jim Henson Company . 3 July 2020.
  6. Web site: Faz Fazakas – The Dark Crystal . The Dark Crystal – The Official Home of The Dark Crystal from The Jim Henson Company . 2020-07-03.
  7. Web site: Visit - Calendar - Emmet Otter and Tribute to "Faz" Fazakas and Diana Birkenfield . Museum of the Moving Image . 2013-12-08 . 2020-07-03.
  8. Book: Jones, B.J. . Jim Henson: The Biography . Ballantine Books . 2015 . 978-0-345-52612-0 . 2020-07-03 . 196.
  9. United States Census . 1920 . East Orange Ward 1, Essex, New Jersey . 1029 . 26 . 57 . 28 . T625 . 2020-07-03.
  10. Web site: Franz Fazakas . United States World War II Army Enlistment Records . FamilySearch . 3 July 2020.
  11. Web site: Franz Fazakas . Playbill . 1963-04-11 . 2020-07-03.
  12. Web site: Donelly . Tanya . Tanya Donelly on Twitter . Twitter . 4 July 2020.