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Ray Harryhausen remains Hollywood's one true craftsman, a solo stop-motion animator whose creations - based in myth yet inspired by his imagination - left a lasting impact on today's cinema. In the course of his long career, Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion creations transcend mere special effects and have become true characters.
Ray Harryhausen's introduction to stop-motion animation came when he was 13 years old and saw "King Kong." The pathos of Kong, animated by stop-motion pioneer Willis O'Brien, inspired young Ray Harryhausen to try his own experiments. He showed a natural talent for the work, and his early start allowed him to hone his animation skills. To perfect his abilities, Ray enrolled in art and drama classes, and the generous support of his parents (his father constructed the intricate jointed armatures, and his mother designed and sewed miniature costumes for his stop-motion puppets) aided his development tremendously. During World War II, Ray enrolled in the Navy, and spent his military years working on training films in the signal corps. While in the Navy, he found a stock of outdated Kodachrome film being thrown away, and later decided to create a series of children's fairy tales with it. Although successful, Ray cut the series short in order to broaden his experience, and later took a job working on George Pal's Puppetoons. Unfortunately, the process by which the Puppetoon shorts were made allowed for little creative input, and he soon found himself seeking another challenge. The challenge arrived in the form of The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, the first feature film he worked on. The success of The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms led to work on similar films, as well as his pairing with producer Charles H. Schneer, with whom we would make his most personally inventive films. With few exceptions, Ray Harryhausen and Charles H. Schneer worked together from the 1960's to 1981's Clash of the Titans, Ray Harryhausen's last movie. Within the confines of these tightly-budgeted movies, Ray Harryhausen found a means to express his concepts in a way unique to other feature films. In 1992, Ray Harryhausen was awarded the Gordon E. Sawyer special achievement award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. His contributions to stop-motion animation inspired an entire generation of animators and special effects artists. |
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