‘Close Encounters’ VFX creator Douglas Trumbull dies – KIRO 7

He died Monday at the age of 79.

His work, though, wasn’t just limited to the big screen.

RIP to an actual visionary, Doug Trumbull, SFX genius behind the effects in 2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind, Star Trek: The Motion Picture & Blade Runner.

He was an illustrator and airbrush artist by trade, working on a documentary for the 1964 New York World’s Fair, called “To the Moon and Beyond” for Graphic Films in Los Angeles.

Trumbull was honored by The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences with a Scientific and Engineering Award in 1993 for the creation of the Showscan Camera System and with the Gordon E.

His father, Don Trumbull, worked on such legendary films as “The Wizard of Oz” and “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope.” They also worked together on some films, Variety reported.

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