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Ray
Harryhausen was born on June 29, 1920 in Los Angeles, California,
and today is considered a true inspiration to an incalculable number
of special effects artists, directors and producers. The likes of
Joe Dante, James Cameron, Peter Jackson, George Lucas and Steven
Spielberg all hail him as having changed the face of fantastic
film-making. And it doesn’t begin and end there. Many other
followers of fantasy art pay tribute to him, as well as many others
who have simply fallen in love with his creatures, worlds and
stories.
Ever since his early childhood he enjoyed working with models even
in the days when he was attending grammar school. During this time
his teacher presented a class project entitled Constructing Models
of Californian Missions. It was that simple class project that
hinted at his future career. But what truly changed his life was a
film by the name of King Kong, the stop-motion masterpiece that Ray
would ever hold as a template of sorts, the ultimate inspiration
that gave him the go-ahead to follow his many diverse movie
experiences. He saw this movie when he was thirteen years old, at
Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. Ever since that film Ray
was never the same. At school, he would adapt the film's storyline
and recreate the dinosaurs and Kong, presenting highlights of the
film. His father, Fred, built him a bench in the family garage where
he would work on his creations, and both
 Fred
and Martha his mother continued to support him in his endeavours,
which Harryhausen says was a very important benefit. His father
would make armatures (metal skeletons inside models that allow
animation movement) and other technical effects, and his mother
would make clothing and other decorations for his creations. During
this time he purchased a 16mm Kodak Cine II camera, and with this he
would build small sets and experiment with models and some other
techniques. Gradually he became familiar with the intricacies of
animation. While still at school, he managed to get hold of a
life-changing phone-number – that of Willis O'Brien, the creator of
the special effects in King Kong, and a person that would play a
very important role in his career. After grammar school, O'Brien
advised Ray to enrol in classes in art and anatomy at Los Angeles
City College so that he may learn the skills to design his models
with more realism. He began a project entitled “Evolution”, which
was to be about the world’s beginnings, famously designing a woolly
mammoth with fur from his mother’s coat! However he abandoned this
film after he saw Disney’s “Fantasia”, which covered similar ground,
and he became discouraged. He began work on a project about an alien
creature from Jupiter, which produced his first public
acknowledgement, in Popular Science magazine. At this time he was
applying for real jobs in animation, which landed him at George
Pal’s "Puppetoons" as an animator, using footage from “Evolution” to
show what he could do. After two years at this job, his career would
make a turn for the best when, after producing a series of army
training films during World War II and a series of fairy tales, he
took part in his first feature film that starred another giant ape -
"Mighty Joe Young". Ray acted as Willis O’Brien’s assistant
animator, and eventually animated around 85% of ‘Joe’. This film
proved to him that his real passion was to do feature length films.
Ray went on to take part in 16 feature films that have inspired many
fans of films and fantasy.
The first was an 50s atomic era dinosaur story, “The Beast from
20’000 Fathoms”, concerning a creature awakened by a nuclear blast,
which was taken
from a short-story by his lifelong friend and
legend-in-his-own-right, Ray Bradbury. This was a gigantic hit. He
followed it up with “It Came From Beneath The Sea”, concerning not
an octopus but a ‘sextupus’, “Earth vs. The Flying Saucers”, and “20
Million Miles To Earth”, in between working on a short dinosaur
sequence for Irwin Allen’s “The Animal World.” These were very
successful, and remain extraordinary today. It was clear a master
was at work, who had the Zeus touch of creating what seemed like
life.
Still Ray needed more outlet for his art, and he had destroyed and
created enough within the atomic-age genre! The next project was to
mark a turning point in his career, and one of the most astonishing
turning-points in cinema history. “The 7th Voyage of Sinbad” was the
sleeper hit of 1958, and is a riot of action, colour and spectacular
creatures, including the famous Cyclops and skeleton scene. The
impact and influence of this film is unquantifiable. This was
followed up by more fantasy, in the shape of “The Three Worlds of
Gulliver” and “Mysterious Island”. The latter was based on a Jules
Verne story, the production of which involved some usage of ‘edible
crabs’, which were subsequently eaten afterwards! Then came the film
that both Harryhausen and his long-time producer, Charles H.
Schneer, both agree as being their best and favourite – “Jason and
the Argonauts.” A mind-boggling amount of effort in animation was
utilised in creating the Hydra, and no less than seven of his best
friends: skeletons, as well as two Harpies and the colossus of
metal, Talos. The next project was “First Men In The Moon”, taken
from a book by HG Wells. After this came Harryhausen’s
feature-length dinosaur epics, “One Million Years BC”, and “The
Valley of Gwangi”. These films had an immense impact on dinosaur
fans and palaeontologists alike! For the next two projects,
Harryhausen returned to Arabian Nights, for “The Golden Voyage of
Sinbad” and “Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger”. Finally, his last
film before retirement was “Clash of the Titans”, returning to Greek
mythology and featuring one his best sequences, the lair of Medusa.
 His
career has spanned many years and many creations and many memories
for so many fans of his work. He has received many awards for his
work in films and stop motion animation. Currently Mr. Harryhausen
has retired from full-length movie special-effects, but has been in
talks with producing some short films animated by other animators
and fans, and does appearances at many art schools and speeches at
many events. His latest work can be seen in a short animated film
called
The Story of the Tortoise and the Hare
a film that started many decades ago and was finished in 2003 with
the assistance of other animators. He has written books of his art,
two notably with Tony Dalton, which are a must for any Harryhausen
fan, and provide an amazing array of information and artwork to
satisfy any effects fan, fantasy fan and even art fan! In 1992 Ray
Harryhausen finally achieved film immortality with an honorary
Oscar, and in 2003 received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame,
right outside where it all started - Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.
Long-overdue tributes to the one name that personifies visual magic!
He currently lives in the heart of London, with his wife Diana whom
he married in 1963, the year of release for “Jason And The
Argonauts”.
Ray Harryhausen-
"I love the films I was fortunate enough to have been involved with,
and although the years spent on them were sometimes tiring, they
were also fun. They were certainly not wasted years. How could they
be? It is gratifying to know that my work bridged the years between
Willis O Brien’s pioneering work and the new science of computer
special effects and that the films have given so many people so much
enjoyment and inspiration.”
Credit:Russ
(beowulfine)
and
Dan.
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