Legendary visual effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen dies at 92

A pioneer in the world of visual effects and stop-motion animation, Ray Harryhausen, died in London on Tuesday (May 7) at the age of 92, according to his Facebook page. The cause of death has not been specified.

Harryhausen, who was born in Los Angeles in 1920, became one of the leading figures in visual effects, influencing the likes of Stephen Spielberg, Peter Jackson, James Cameron, George Lucas, Nick Park, and more.

He was originally inspired by the effects in the 1933 classic King Kong after seeing it at age 13. He made his mark in fantasy and adventure films such as Mighty Joe Young (which won the Academy Award for best special effects), It Came From Beneath the Sea, three Sinbad movies, One Million Years B.C., and Clash of the Titans (1981). His work, decades before computer-generated effects became the norm, set the standard for the industry. 

He became particularly known for the stop-motion animation (which he called Dynamation) of the seven skeleton warriors which emerge from the ground in the 1963 film Jason and the Argonauts. The filming took three months for a scene that lasts only a few minutes but it became revolutionary in how it combined interactions between actors and animation.

He was honoured by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in 1992 with an Oscar for his contributions to the industry.

For a brief retrospective of Harryhausen's work, the following video compiles all the monsters he created and animated in chronological order. (For a complete creature list, visit his tribute website.)