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Deaths 2019

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Full list by date of death

Ray Harryhausen

Special effects creator

Born - 29 June 1920, Los Angeles, California, USA
Died - 6 May 2013

Normally, this site concentrates on actors and director, but Harryhausen was a giant in his field, the progenitor of all special effects on fantasy adventures. His stop-motion effects became a byword for excellence in their field, bringing many mythical creatures to life, and he worked notably as special effects creator on such films as The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955), The Animal World (1956), 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957), The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958, with its fighting skeletons), The Three Worlds of Gulliver (1960), Jason and the Argonauts (1963), One Million Years BC (1966), The Valley of Gwangi (1969), The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973), Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977) and Clash of the Titans (1981). He also directed a number of early cartoons, including The Story of Little Red Riding Hood (1949), The Story of Rapunzel (1951), The Story of Hansel and Gretel (1951) and The Story of King Midas (1953). Much later, he added to this collection with The Story of the Tortoise and the Hare (2002), which he had begun 50 years earlier! He was awarded an honorary Oscar in 1992.