Visual effects master Ray Harryhausen, whose stop-motion wizardry graced such films as Jason and the Argonauts and Clash of the Titans, has died aged 92.
He is perhaps best remembered for animating the seven skeletons who come to life in Jason and the Argonauts, a sequence which took him three months to film, and for the Medusa who turned men to stone in Titans.
Sad news indeed, but tempered by the humour of this comment on Slashdot-
He who has no name wrote:
If we keep repositioning his body while everyone is blinking, maybe nobody will be able to tell he's actually dead.
Commander Smivs, the friendliest Gourd this side of Riedquat.
That's too bad to hear - Clash of the Titans is still amazing. I've never seen Jason and the Argonauts... but perhaps I should .
"I'll laser the mark all while munching a fistful of popcorn." - Markgräf von Ededleen,Marquess, Brutal Great One, Assassins' Guild Exterminator
--------------------------- At the helm of the Caduceus Omega,'Murderous Morrígan'
I read this anecdote on another forum, from someone what managed to have a brief chat with him
...I got to speak to him for a little while, and he seemed a really jovial sort. Had some great stories. He told me this one about how when he was animating the Hydra in Argonauts, he did the longest shot entirely on his own, with equipment he had set up in his study. He got a phone call after working on the shot non-stop for 2 days from his agent. After the phone conversation was over, he sat back down at the model and realised he couldn't remember which way the heads were all meant to be going, and had to start from scratch.
He said his wife came home to see the telephone, cable, and a piece of masonry (ripped out the wall, still with the socket and cable) on the front lawn after he threw it out the window!
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