Ray Harryhausen Dies At Age 92

Ray Harryhausen, stop-motion animator and special effects innovator, died Tuesday in London. He was 92.

According to the Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation’s Facebook page, Harryhausen was first inspired by special effects and film when he saw King Kong in 1933. He went on to work in the film industry for 46 years, contributing his special effects talents to movies such as Mighty Joe Young, Clash of Titans, and perhaps most notably 1963's Jason and the Argonauts, which featured a stop-motion animated skeleton sword-fighting scene.

The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation is “devoted to the protection of Ray’s name and body of work as well as archiving, preserving and restoring Ray’s extensive collection," and the foundation's Facebook page offered a number of acknowledgements from renowned filmmakers whom Harryhausen influenced over the years.

“Ray has been a great inspiration to us all in special visual industry. The art of his earlier films, which most of us grew up on, inspired us so much," Lucas said. "Without Ray Harryhausen, there would likely have been no Star Wars.”

A day in Harryhausen’s honor, “Ray Day,” will be held on June 16, during which time the British Film Institute will have a 50th anniversary screening of Jason and the Argonauts, a Harryhausen family friend told USA Today.

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