Eren Ozker

Eren Ozker (July 25, 1948 - February 25, 1993) was a puppeteer on The Muppet Show during the first season. She most notably originated the characters of Wanda and Hilda, and performed Janice, who had initially been performed by Fran Brill (the role would eventually go to Richard Hunt). She was the only regular female performer on the show during that time. When The Muppet Show received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music Series, she was named alongside the other regular puppeteers and the producers. Ozker also played several supporting roles in Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (including Gretchen Fox) and served as an additional performer on The Muppet Movie.
Born in Ankara, Turkey, Eren Ozker grew up in Farmington Hills, Michigan. She graduated from the University of Michigan in 1970, with a bachelor's degree in drama, and moved to New York City. As a stage actress, she toured with the National Shakespeare Company, playing heroines such as Hero in Much Ado About Nothing and Ophelia in Hamlet.Streighteff, Lynn. "Two Shakespeare Plays: Vivisection and Thanks." Daily News. October 17, 1970. Huntington, Pennsylvania She also appeared Off-Broadway in plays such as Ibsen's The Master Builder. In 1975, after a stint with the Syracuse Stage troupe, she joined the Hartman Theater Company in Connecticut, playing leading roles such as Mayra in Gogol's The Government Inspector and Teresa in The Hostage. She often played opposite actor William Bogert; when Ozker returned to the states in 1977, on a break from her Muppet work, the pair married.
Even after her departure from the Muppets, Ozker remained occasionally active as a puppeteer, playing spokescharacter Sud-Z-Lemon in a series of 1980s commercials for Joy dishwashing liquid."At the Agencies." The Post-Standard. November 1985. Syracuse, New York. In 1989, Ozker fought for a more vocal participation by puppeteers in the acting unions, founding the SAG Puppeteers' Caucus and serving as the first chairwoman."Eren Ozker, Actress And Puppeteer, 44; A Voice of Muppets." The New York Times. Feburary 27, 1993. Later puppeteer work included the 1988 stage play The Warrior Ant, the 1990 film Frankenhooker, and puppeteering a computer-generated Felix head for Felix the Cat: The Movie (1991). In 1991, she was also awarded the Joseph C. Reily award by SAG for outstanding service to the union. She died of cancer.
==Credits==
for a complete character gallery, see Eren Ozker characters
*The Muppet Show (first season): Hilda, Wanda, Janice, and others...
*Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas: Gretchen Fox, Old Lady Possum, Hetty Muskrat, Mrs. Mink
*The Muppet Movie
==Gallery==
File:Richard_and_Eren.jpg|Richard Hunt and Ozker
File:Eren_Ozker_and_Jim_Henson.jpg|Ozker and Jim Henson
==Sources==
==External links==
* IMDb
* Remembering Eren- article by her husband, William Bogert
* Lucinda Sue Crosby book dedication
* NY Times obit
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Category:Muppet Performers