Celebrity Biographies
Ray harryhausen
Ray Harryhausen, the legendary creator of special effects who inspired numerous filmmakers such as Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Peter Jackson, passed away on May 7, 2013, at the age of 92 in London. “Harryhausen’s genius lay in bringing his animated models to life. Whether they were prehistoric dinosaurs or mythological creatures , in Ray’s hands they were not puppets but full-fledged characters, as important as the actors they were up against and in some cases even more,” the filmmaker’s family said in a statement.
“Without Ray Harryhausen there would have been no Star Wars ,” George Lucas has stated . “The Lord of the Rings is my tribute film to Ray Harryhausen . Without his love for those wonderful images and his way of narrating it could not have been done, at least not with me,” said Peter Jackson . “Without Ray’s contribution to the collective imagination, we wouldn’t be who we are,” said filmmaker James Cameron .
Born on June 29, 1920 in Los Angeles, Raymond Frederick Harryhausen –always Ray to the whole world– comes from a family of German origin. He was always a great fan of science fiction and fantasy, and from a very young age he became a great friend of Ray Bradbury , later one of the great gurus of the novel in this genre.
He was 13 years old when he saw King Kong (1933) in the cinema , whose special effects dazzled him to the point that he decided to dedicate his life to this field. He went several times to see the film, and finally a friend arranged a meeting for him with Willis O’Brien, creator of the monster, who encouraged him to follow in his footsteps.
He begins to exercise with puppets and the art of stop-motion animation in several shorts directed by his friend George Pal . But he did not lose contact with O’Brien, with whom he would collaborate on The Great Gorilla , from the creators of King Kong, as Ernest B. Schoedsack directed , while Merian C. Cooper served as producer. None other than John Ford himself lent a hand directing some sequences.
After serving as cinematographer, under the pseudonym Jerome Wray, on The Story of Little Red Hood , Ray Harryhausen first signed on as solo animation effects manager on The Monster of Ancient Times , which was based on a story by Ray Bradbury .
He teamed up many times with producer Charles H. Schneer, with whom he first collaborated on It Came from Beneath the Sea . Nathan Juran directed two of his most iconic titles, 20 Millions Miles to Earth and Sinbad and the Princess .
In 1963, Harryhausen married Diana Livingstone, a family member of the legendary explorer David Livingstone, who has survived him after his death. The marriage had a daughter, Vanessa. The family spent long periods in Spain, where 7 of the films in which the maestro collaborated were filmed.
The 1960s were the great decade for Harryhausen, who created effects for films such as Gulliver’s Travels , The Mysterious Island , The Big Surprise , A Million Years Ago , The Valley of Gwangi and above all the unforgettable Jason and the Argonauts , directed by Don Chaffey , who has his most remembered creations.
In the 70s, his works became more and more sporadic. He still collaborates in Trog , by Freddie Francis and in two new Sinbad the Sailor films, Sinbad’s Fantastic Voyage and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger , in which he also appears credited as a screenwriter. He retired from cinema with the successful Clash of the Titans (1981) , a film about Greek mythology in which he worked as a producer and, of course, he was the creator of special effects. He later appeared in cameo appearances in John Landis’s light-hearted Spies Like Us and Hollywood Cop II .
In 1992 he was awarded an honorary Oscar for his entire career. He celebrated his 90th birthday in style, as filmmakers such as Terry Gilliam and the aforementioned Landis traveled to the British capital for the occasion, while Peter Jackson was in charge of presenting him with an honorary BAFTA.