Ray Harryhausen passed away in London today at the age of 92 according to his family. His name might not sound familiar to you, but what he done is very familiar to anyone who has ever seen a Sci-Fi movie. In 1933 he went to see a movie called King Kong and his life was changed forever. It was then that he decided to go into movies and create the creatures that we grew up with like the ones in Clash of the Titans, Mighty Joe Young and Jason and the Argonauts to name a few. What he invented led to him being known as the Grandfather of Stop Motion and a Special Effects Pioneer. His work was so revered that Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Peter Jackson, Tim Burton, John Landis and so many others say that he was their inspiration to getting into the business.
I only recently got to know who he was because of a documentary called Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan that aired on the Sony Movie Channel. The film was so interesting, I couldn’t get enough of it because what he did just left me is such awe. It will be re-airing on the Sony Movie Channel on May 19th at 11:30 AM ET/8:30 AM PT, so make sure to watch it to learn more about him and his legacy. He was a man ahead of his time but when time got ahead of him, he got out the race he already won.
So today honor him by reading more about the man, who influenced so many others. Then watch what he did, and think how the heck did he do that.
