 raymond frederick "ray" harryhausen (june 29, 1920&nbsp;â may 7, 2013) was an american visual effects creator, writer, and producer who created a form of stop-motion model animation known as "dynamation." his most memorable works include the animation on mighty joe young (1949), with his mentor willis h. o'brien, which won the academy award for special effects; the 7th voyage of sinbad (1958), his first color film; and jason and the argonauts (1963), featuring a famous sword fight against seven skeleton warriors. his last film was clash of the titans (1981), after which he retired. harryhausen lived in london from 1960 until his death in 2013. during his life, his innovative style of special effects in movies have inspired numerous celebrities, including directors john lasseter and tim burton ==early life== harryhausen was born in los angeles, california, the son of martha l. (nÃ©e reske) and frederick w. harryhausen. of german descent, the family surname was originally spelled "herrenhausen". ==life and career== ===1930s and 1940s=== after having seen king kong (1933) for the first of many times on its initial release, harryhausen spent his early years experimenting in the production of animated shorts, inspired by the bu
1920_births 2013_deaths American_expatriates_in_the_United_Kingdom American_film_producers American_people_of_German_descent Artists_from_Los_Angeles,_California Empire_Inspiration_Award_winners Science_Fiction_Hall_of_Fame_inductees Special_effects_people Stop_motion_animators