On This Day: Ray Harryhausen

On this day, in 1920, special effects legend Ray Harryhausen was born in Los Angeles, California.

For those raised on modern CGI techniques, for whom the likes of Pixar and ILM have always been there, it might be difficult to understand why this man is held in such estime. But for those of us who remember life before Spielberg and Lucas, Ray Harryhausen was the god of special effects, raising the technique of stop motion photography to an art form.

From The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, in 1953, through The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and One Million Years B.C. to his swansong on 1981’s Clash of the Titans, he was the undisputed king of visual effects.

Awesome. Ray Harryhausen, we salute you!