Profile Text
Oz in 2015, photo by kathclick /Bigstock.com
Birth Name: Frank Richard Oznowicz
Place of Birth: Hereford, Herefordshire, England, U.K.
Date of Birth: 25 May, 1944
Ethnicity: * father – Ashkenazi Jewish * mother – Belgian [Flemish, some Walloon]
Frank Oz is an American actor, puppeteer, director, and producer.
Frank is the son of Françoise/Frances Gilette/Gillette Maria (Ghevaert) and Isidore “Mike” Oznowicz. His father was born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, of approximately one quarter Polish Jewish and three quarters Dutch Jewish ancestry. Frank’s mother was Belgian [Flemish, some Walloon], and was a lapsed Catholic. Frank spent his early years in England, then Belgium, and ultimately the U.S., in Montana, and then Oakland, California.
Frank is married to Victoria Labalme. He has four children with his former wife Robin Garsen.
Frank’s paternal grandfather was Samuel Oznowicz (the son of Itzek Oznowicz and Rebecca Tonningen). Samuel was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands, to a Polish Jewish father and a Dutch Jewish mother. Itzek was born in Ostroleka, Ostrołęka County, Masovian Voivodeship, the son of Abram Mosiek Oznowicz and Malka Brzoza. Rebecca was born in Amsterdam, the daughter of Samson Jacob Tonningen and Saartje Juda Bromet.
Frank’s paternal grandmother was Rebekka/Rebecca Bonettemaker (the daughter of Mozes Bonnettemaker and Femmetje Hakker). Frank’s grandmother Rebekka was born in Amsterdam, to a Dutch Jewish family that had lived in the Netherlands for centuries. Mozez was born in Amsterdam, the son of Manuel Jacob Bonnettemaker and Eva Jonas Oesterman. Frank’s great-grandmother Femmetje was born in Amsterdam. She died in the Holocaust in Auschwitz, in 1943. She was the daughter of Abraham Jonas Hakker and Elsje Gompert Gomperts.
Frank’s maternal grandfather was Omer Louis Ghevaert (the son of Desiderius Ghevaert and Adele Mathilde Depreeu). Omer was born in Zonnebeke, West-Vlaanderen, Vlaanderen, Belgium. Desiderius was the son of Bruno Ghevaert and Coleta Verhulst. Adele was the daughter of Louis Francis Depreeu and Catharina Rosa Catteau.
Frank’s maternal grandmother was Maria Joséphine/Joséphina Theresia Dierckx/Dierickx-Visschers (the daughter of Leopoldus Franciscus Dierckx/Dierickx-Visschers and Mathilde Sophia Lingier/Linguier).
Sources: Genealogy of Frank Oz – https://www.geni.com
Article about Frank’s father – https://www.nytimes.com
Immigration record of Frank’s father – https://familysearch.org
Genealogy of Frank’s paternal grandmother, Rebekka/Rebecca Bonettemaker – http://www.geneawiki.nl