Celebrities and directors including Patton Oswalt, Jon Favreau and Andrew Stanton pay tribute to the stop-motion animation pioneer, who died at the age of 92.
- May 8, 2013
AceShowbiz - Ray Harryhausen, who is known as the legend of special effects stop-motion animation, passed away at the age of 92 on Tuesday, May 7 at Hammersmith Hospital, London, after receiving treatment for a week. His death was confirmed by Kenneth Kleinberg, Harryhausen's longtime legal representative in the USA. The cause of death remains undetermined.
Patton Oswalt is among Hollywood celebrities and directors who took to Twitter to pay tribute to the animator who worked in "It Came from Outer Space". The comedian wrote, "If I'd believed in God, I'd want him to be like Ray Harryhausen -nudging us one frame at a time toward the sublime & fantastic."
Director Jon Favreau joins Oswalt, saying, "A source of inspiration, the master of stop motion, and even a voice actor in Elf. His work still holds up." "John Carter" director, Andrew Stanton also praised Harryhausen's work. He said, "Anyone in the world of animation, SFX, or fantasy owes everything to Ray Harruhausen. A True Legend. RIP Sir."
Nick Park, who created Oscar-winning animation "Wallace and Gromit", told BBC, "I've followed the work of Ray Harryhausen all my life. He is one of the great of stop motion animation. A Unique craftsman... He has been my mentor and inspiration since my earliest childhood memories."
Harryhausen was born in Los Angeles in June 1920. As a child, he had a passion for dinosaurs and thought of having his own versions of prehistoric creatures. He went to see a pioneer in the field of model animation, Willis O'Brien. Later, O'Brien hired Harryhausen to help him create the ape in Oscar-winning film "Mighty Joe Young".
Harryhausen then made some notable fantasy movies such as "One Million Years B.C." and "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad". His other popular works were "Jason and the Argonauts" and "Clash of the Titans".
