JamesG
03-04-2012, 04:09 PM
STAR WARS Designer Ralph McQuarrie Dies
Andre Soares
Mar 3, 2012
Art designer Ralph McQuarrie, who worked on the designs for George Lucas' Star Wars and its sequels, died today at the age of 82.
The Indiana-born McQuarrie began his career as a designer after moving to California in the 1960s. In the mid-'70s, he was hired by Lucas to design Chewbacca and Darth Vader, in addition to other visual elements found in what would become one of the biggest box-office hits in history.
"I just did my best to depict what I thought the film should look like, I really liked the idea," McQuarrie would later tell the San Diego Union-Tribune. "I didn't think the film would ever get made. My impression was it was too expensive. There wouldn't be enough of an audience. It's just too complicated. But George knew a lot of things that I didn't know."
He had a minor role as General McQuarrie in The Empire Strikes Back.
George Lucas spoke about McQuarrie's passing on starswars.com:
"I am deeply saddened by the passing of such a visionary artist and such a humble man. Ralph McQuarrie was the first person who helped me envision 'Star Wars'... When words could not convey my ideas, I could always point to one of Ralph's fabulous illustrations and say, 'Do it like this.'"
Additionally, he collaborated with Steven Spielberg on his own sci-fi/fantasy forays: Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., and Jurassic Park, besides the Lucas-Spielberg adventure blockbuster Raiders of the Lost Ark.
McQuarrie won a Best Visual Effects Oscar (along with Ken Ralston, Scott Farrar, and David Berry) for Ron Howard's 1985 fantasy Cocoon.
Other credits include Matthew Robbins' *batteries not included, Leonard Nimoy's Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Clive Barker's Nightbreed, and the 1978 television series "Battlestar Galactica".
http://www.altfg.com/blog/movie/star-wars-designer-ralph-mcquarrie-bio/
Andre Soares
Mar 3, 2012
Art designer Ralph McQuarrie, who worked on the designs for George Lucas' Star Wars and its sequels, died today at the age of 82.
The Indiana-born McQuarrie began his career as a designer after moving to California in the 1960s. In the mid-'70s, he was hired by Lucas to design Chewbacca and Darth Vader, in addition to other visual elements found in what would become one of the biggest box-office hits in history.
"I just did my best to depict what I thought the film should look like, I really liked the idea," McQuarrie would later tell the San Diego Union-Tribune. "I didn't think the film would ever get made. My impression was it was too expensive. There wouldn't be enough of an audience. It's just too complicated. But George knew a lot of things that I didn't know."
He had a minor role as General McQuarrie in The Empire Strikes Back.
George Lucas spoke about McQuarrie's passing on starswars.com:
"I am deeply saddened by the passing of such a visionary artist and such a humble man. Ralph McQuarrie was the first person who helped me envision 'Star Wars'... When words could not convey my ideas, I could always point to one of Ralph's fabulous illustrations and say, 'Do it like this.'"
Additionally, he collaborated with Steven Spielberg on his own sci-fi/fantasy forays: Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., and Jurassic Park, besides the Lucas-Spielberg adventure blockbuster Raiders of the Lost Ark.
McQuarrie won a Best Visual Effects Oscar (along with Ken Ralston, Scott Farrar, and David Berry) for Ron Howard's 1985 fantasy Cocoon.
Other credits include Matthew Robbins' *batteries not included, Leonard Nimoy's Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Clive Barker's Nightbreed, and the 1978 television series "Battlestar Galactica".
http://www.altfg.com/blog/movie/star-wars-designer-ralph-mcquarrie-bio/