Glen Robinson (visual effects)
Thomas Glenn Robinson | |
---|---|
Born | (1914-09-20)September 20, 1914 Idaho, USA |
Died | March 27, 2002(2002-03-27) (aged 87) Los Angeles, California, USA |
Occupation | Visual effects artist |
Years active | 1936–1984 |
Children | 5 |
Thomas Glenn Robinson, better known as Glen Robinson (September 20, 1914 – March 27, 2002), was an American special and visual effects artist, winner of six Academy Awards: two Academy Awards for Technical Achievement[1] and four Special Achievement Academy Awards.[2] As a special effects artist, his career spans over six decades from the mid-1930s to the mid-1980s, having worked literally on dozens of films.
Biography
Glen Robinson was born Thomas Glenn Robinson in Idaho on September 20, 1914. When aged twelve his family moved to Los Angeles city and in 1932, at the age of 18, he graduated from Venice High School. In 1936 he was hired by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer company, where he became the studio's top special effects coordinator.
Alongside his special effects career, Robinson was an engineer of roller coaster and double Ferris wheel attractions at amusement and theme parks that included Magic Mountain (Golden, Colorado; Valencia, California), Pleasure Island (Wakefield, Massachusetts), Freedomland U.S.A. (New York) and Space City USA (near Huntsville, Alabama). In the book, Freedomland U.S.A.: The Definitive History (Theme Park Press, 2019), Robinson is credited for his work at the park. However, his specific contributions to Freedomland remain undetermined. Space City USA never was completed.
Glen Robinson died of natural causes on March 27, 2002, at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. He died on the same day as three other Hollywood stars: actor Dudley Moore, comedian Milton Berle and film director and screenwriter Billy Wilder.[3] Robinson was aged 87 and at the moment of his death he was survived by five children (two sons and three daughters), fourteen grandchildren and thirteen great-grandchildren.[4]
Selected filmography
- The Wizard of Oz (1939, special effects prop shop, uncredited)
- Forbidden Planet (1956, special effects technician, uncredited)
- The Rat Patrol (TV Series, special effects), three episodes:
- The Last Chance Raid (1967)
- Two for One Raid (1967)
- The One That Got Away Raid (1967)
- The Bamboo Saucer (1968, special effects)
- Battle of Britain (1969, special effects)
- Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970, mechanical effects, uncredited)
- Earthquake (1974, special effects)
- The Hindenburg (1975, special mechanical effects, credited as Glenn Robinson)
- Logan's Run (1976, special effects)
- King Kong (1976, special effects)
- Demon Seed (1977, special mechanical effects – uncredited)
- Hurricane (1979, special effects)
- Meteor (1979, special effects supervisor)
- Kaala Patthar (1979, special effects)
- Flash Gordon (1980, special effects consultant)
- Island Claws (1980, special effects)
- Pennies from Heaven (1981, special effects)
- Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982, special effects)
- Amityville II: The Possession (1982, special effects supervisor)
- Meatballs Part II (1984, special effects)
Awards
Two Academy Awards for Technical Achievement
- 1952 (24th): "for the development of a new music wire and cable cutter"
- 1960 (32nd): "for the design of a multiple-cable, remote-controlled winch", shared with Winfield Hubbard and Luther Newman, both from the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Construction Department
Four Special Achievement Academy Awards
- 1975 (47th): for Best Visual Effects for Earthquake (1974), shared with Frank Brendel and Albert Whitlock
- 1976 (48th): for Best Visual Effects for The Hindenburg (1975), shared with Albert Whitlock
- 1977 (49th): for Best Visual Effects for King Kong (1976), shared with Carlo Rambaldi and Frank Van der Veer
- 1977 (49th): for Best Visual Effects for Logan's Run (1976), shared with L. B. Abbott and Matthew Yuricich
References
- ^ Glen Robinson as mentioned in the Oscars.org Awards Database[permanent dead link]
- ^ David Samuelson, Hands-on Manual for Cinematographers, Focal Press edition (2013), based on the second edition (1998, first published 1994), ISBN 978-0-240-51480-2 (p. 21)
- ^ Crean, Ellen (29 March 2002). "Sad Week In Show Business". CBS News. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
- ^ Doug Galloway, Thomas ‘Glen’ Robinson: Special Effects Pioneer, May 1, 2002, Variety.com (US Edition)
External links
- Glen Robinson at IMDb
- v
- t
- e
- Emil Kosa Jr. – Cleopatra (1963)
- Peter Ellenshaw, Eustace Lycett, and Hamilton Luske – Mary Poppins (1964)
- John Stears – Thunderball (1965)
- Art Cruickshank – Fantastic Voyage (1966)
- L. B. Abbott – Doctor Dolittle (1967)
- Stanley Kubrick – 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
- Robie Robertson – Marooned (1969)
- A. D. Flowers and L. B. Abbott – Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
- Alan Maley, Eustace Lycett, and Danny Lee – Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
- L. B. Abbott and A. D. Flowers – The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
- Frank Brendel, Glen Robinson, and Albert Whitlock – Earthquake (1974)
- Albert Whitlock and Glen Robinson – The Hindenburg (1975)
- Carlo Rambaldi, Glen Robinson, and Frank Van der Veer – King Kong (1976)
- John Stears, John Dykstra, Richard Edlund, Grant McCune, and Robert Blalack – Star Wars (1977)
- Les Bowie, Colin Chilvers, Denys Coop, Roy Field, Derek Meddings, and Zoran Perisic – Superman (1978)
- H. R. Giger, Carlo Rambaldi, Brian Johnson, Nick Allder, and Dennis Ayling – Alien (1979)
- Brian Johnson, Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, and Bruce Nicholson – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
- Richard Edlund, Kit West, Bruce Nicholson, and Joe Johnston – Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
- Carlo Rambaldi, Dennis Muren, and Kenneth F. Smith – E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
- Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, Ken Ralston, and Phil Tippett – Return of the Jedi (1983)
- Dennis Muren, Michael J. McAlister, Lorne Peterson, and George Gibbs – Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
- Ken Ralston, Ralph McQuarrie, Scott Farrar, and David Berry – Cocoon (1985)
- Robert Skotak, Stan Winston, John Richardson, and Suzanne M. Benson – Aliens (1986)
- Dennis Muren, Bill George, Harley Jessup, and Kenneth F. Smith - Innerspace (1987)
- Ken Ralston, Richard Williams, Edward Jones, and George Gibbs – Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
- John Bruno, Dennis Muren, Hoyt Yeatman, and Dennis Skotak – The Abyss (1989)
- Eric Brevig, Rob Bottin, Tim McGovern, and Alex Funke – Total Recall (1990)
- Dennis Muren, Stan Winston, Gene Warren Jr., and Robert Skotak – Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
- Ken Ralston, Doug Chiang, Douglas Smythe, and Tom Woodruff Jr. – Death Becomes Her (1992)
- Dennis Muren, Stan Winston, Phil Tippett, and Michael Lantieri – Jurassic Park (1993)
- Ken Ralston, George Murphy, Stephen Rosenbaum, and Allen Hall – Forrest Gump (1994)
- Scott E. Anderson, Charles Gibson, Neal Scanlan, and John Cox – Babe (1995)
- Volker Engel, Douglas Smith, Clay Pinney, and Joe Viskocil – Independence Day (1996)
- Robert Legato, Mark Lasoff, Thomas L. Fisher, and Michael Kanfer – Titanic (1997)
- Joel Hynek, Nicholas Brooks, Stuart Robertson, and Kevin Mack – What Dreams May Come (1998)
- John Gaeta, Janek Sirrs, Steve Courtley, and Jon Thum – The Matrix (1999)
- John Nelson, Neil Corbould, Tim Burke, and Rob Harvey – Gladiator (2000)
- Jim Rygiel, Randall William Cook, Richard Taylor, and Mark Stetson – The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
- Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook, and Alex Funke – The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
- Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook, and Alex Funke – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
- John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara, and John Frazier – Spider-Man 2 (2004)
- Joe Letteri, Brian Van't Hul, Christian Rivers, and Richard Taylor – King Kong (2005)
- John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson, and Allen Hall – Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
- Michael L. Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris, and Trevor Wood – The Golden Compass (2007)
- Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton, and Craig Barron – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
- Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, and Andrew R. Jones – Avatar (2009)
- Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley, and Peter Bebb – Inception (2010)
- Robert Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann, and Alex Henning – Hugo (2011)
- Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan de Boer, and Donald R. Elliott – Life of Pi (2012)
- Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk, and Neil Corbould – Gravity (2013)
- Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter, and Scott R. Fisher – Interstellar (2014)
- Mark Williams Ardington, Sara Bennett, Paul Norris, and Andrew Whitehurst – Ex Machina (2015)
- Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones, and Dan Lemmon – The Jungle Book (2016)
- John Nelson, Gerd Nefzer, Paul Lambert, and Richard R. Hoover – Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
- Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles, and J. D. Schwalm – First Man (2018)
- Guillaume Rocheron, Greg Butler, and Dominic Tuohy – 1917 (2019)
- Andrew Jackson, David Lee, Andrew Lockley, and Scott R. Fisher – Tenet (2020)
- Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor, and Gerd Nefzer – Dune (2021)
- Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, and Daniel Barrett – Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
- Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi, and Tatsuji Nojima – Godzilla Minus One (2023)