Star Facts
  • Category Motion Pictures

    Address 6840 Hollywood Blvd.

    Ceremony date 06/10/2003

About
Ray Harryhausen
Born:
1920-06-29,
Los Angeles,
California,
USA
Education:
NA
Ethnicity:
Caucasian
Death Date:
2013-05-07
Addition Websites

Ray Harryhausen

In memory of legendary special effects pioneer and Walk of Famer Ray Harryhausen, flowers were placed on his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Tuesday, May 7th, 2013. The star in category of Motion Picture is located at 6840 Hollywood Boulevard. “Rest in Peace among the stars!” The card was signed on behalf of the Hollywood Historic Trust and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

Ray Harryhausen is an American film producer and a special effects creator most famous for his brand of stop-motion model animation, sometimes called Dynamation. Among his most notable works are his animation on Mighty Joe Young, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and Jason and the Argonauts, featuring a famous sword fight against seven skeleton warriors.

Before the advent of computers for camera motion control and CGI, movies used a variety of approaches to achieve animated special effects. One approach was stop-motion animation which used realistic miniature models, used for the first time in a feature film in The Lost World, and most famously in King Kong. The work of pioneer model animator Willis O'Brien in King Kong inspired Harryhausen to work in this unique field, almost single-handedly keeping the technique alive for three decades. O'Brien's career floundered for most of his life?most of his cherished projects were never realized?but Harryhausen was the right person at the right time, and achieved considerable success.

Harryhausen draws a distinction between films that combine special effects animation with live action and films that are completely animated such as the films of Tim Burton, Nick Park, Henry Selick, Ivo Caprino, Ladislav Starevich and many others which he sees as pure "puppet films", and which are more accurately called "puppet animation".

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