Yoda was a 900-year-old Jedi master in the Star Wars universe. He was also a Muppet, performed by Frank Oz, who also was the puppeteer behind Miss Piggy, Fozzy Bear, and Cookie Monster. Then came the prequels, where Yoda was the same character but younger and computer-generated. We all know these things. But the man behind the character design was makeup artist Stuart Freeborn, who paused during the filming of The Empire Strikes Back in 1979 to tell us a bit about how Yoda came about.
I may be crazy, but the prototype puppet in the background seems more like Yoda than the more realistic sculpture in the foreground. Or maybe it just seems more like a 900-year-old character. But the most striking thing about this video is how much Yoda looks like Stuart Freeborn! Don't feel bad making the comparison; Freeborn admitted that was intentional. He based Yoda's look on himself with a bit of Albert Einstein thrown in. -via Laughing Squid