Fozzie's name

It's sometimes thought that Fozzie Bear was named after his performer, Frank Oz. However, Henson sources generally say he was named for master puppet-builder Faz Fazakas. Frank Oz himself claims the name is a variant on "fuzzy".

An online source for this issue used to be the Henson.com website, which had an "Ask Henson" feature. You can still find it via the Internet Archive, e.g., at http://web.archive.org/web/20000303115742/www.henson.com/ask/index.html. The FAQ contained this item:

"I heard that Fozzie Bear was named for his performer, Frank Oz. Is that true? If not, where did Fozzie Bear's name come from? According to Muppet writer Craig Shemin, Frank Oz insists that Fozzie Bear was not named for him. In fact, Fozzie originally was going to be called "Ozzie Bear." Fortunately for us, there were some legal problems with using the name "Ozzie," so the bear needed a new name. Ultimately, he was renamed "Fozzie" as a tribute to puppet-builder Faz Fazakas."

...and the question archive contained this item:

"64.) Just wondering...is the name "Fozzie" (as in "Bear") some derivation of the name from his performer, Frank Oz? There are a couple of answers to your question, depending on who you ask. Fozzie Bear's name is generally considered more of an homage to Faz Fazakas. Mr. Fazakas is an electro-mechanical wizard who designed many of the technological innovations which enable the Muppets to be more realistically animated. Fazakas created the ear mechanism which permits Fozzie to wriggle his ears. Additionally, Frank Oz contends that Fozzie's name is a play on the "fuzzy" nature of a bear. Either way, although it might seem that Fozzie is named for his performer, his name has a different origin. Leslie Kelly Archives The Jim Henson Company"