George Lucas George Walton Lucas , Jr . ( born May 14 , 1944 ) is a four - time – nominated film and television , , and . He is best known as creator of the " Star Wars " saga and the archaeologist - adventurer character Indiana Jones . From 1977 to 2005 , he served as co - writer and executive producer of all six " Star Wars " films , as well as director for four of the films . He also appeared in a cameo role in . He is famous for his advances in special effects and filming techniques . Today , Lucas is one of the American film industry ' s most financially successful directors / producers , with an estimated net worth of $ 5 . 1 billion . Biography . Early life and education . George Walton Lucas Jr . was born in to George Walton Lucas , Sr . ( 1913 – 1991 ) and Dorothy Ellinore Bomberger Lucas on May 14 , 1944 . His father was mainly of British and - heritage and his mother was a member of a prominent Modesto family ( one of her cousins is the mother of former U . S . Secretary of Agriculture and director of UNICEF Ann Veneman ) and was mainly of German and - heritage . His parents sold retail office supplies and owned a walnut ranch in California . His father ran a stationery store and owned a small walnut orchard . His mother was in poor health , often bedridden , throughout Lucas ' s childhood . Lucas himself was short and scrawny as a child ; his younger sister reportedly fought with other kids who picked on him . His experiences growing up in the sleepy suburb of Modesto and his early passion for cars and motor racing would eventually serve as inspiration for his Oscar - nominated low - budget phenomenon , " " . Before young Lucas became obsessed with the movie camera , he attended , where he was an indifferent student at best . He was interested in race car driving ; he dreamed of becoming a professional race car driver . For better or worse , that dream was abruptly ended in his early adulthood when on June 12 , 1962 , he crashed his in a car accident . The car was clipped from behind while he tried to make a left turn into his driveway . The car rolled ; the racing harness that he had installed snapped , and he was thrown from the car . Had the harness not snapped — and Lucas has said it shouldn ' t have — he would most likely have been crushed to death by the steering column when the car smashed into a walnut tree . ( The force of the impact uprooted the tree . ) As it was , emergency personnel had difficulty finding a pulse and at first thought him dead . During his recovery , Lucas reevaluated his life and decided to go to college after graduating high school . He enrolled at , where he earned an AA degree and developed a passion for cinematography and camera tricks . During this time an named tacked up a bedsheet in his backyard in 1960 to screen the work of , 16 mm filmmakers like , and . For the next few years , Baillie ' s series , dubbed , toured local coffeehouses , where art films shared the stage with folksingers and stand - up comedians . These events became a magnet for the teenage Lucas and his boyhood friend John Plummer . The 19 - year - olds began slipping away to San Francisco to hang out in jazz clubs and find news of Canyon Cinema screenings in flyers at the City Lights bookstore . Already a promising photographer , Lucas became infatuated with these abstract films . " That ' s when George really started exploring , " Plummer recalls . " We went to a theater on Union Street that showed art movies , we drove up to San Francisco State for a film festival , and there was an old beatnik coffeehouse in Cow Hollow with shorts that were really out there . " It was a season of awakening for Lucas , who had been a D - plus slacker in high school . At an autocross track , Lucas met his first mentor in the film industry - famed , a fellow aficionado of sleek racing machines . Wexler was impressed by the way the shy teenager handled a camera , cradling it low on his hips to get better angles . " George had a very good eye , and he thought visually , " he recalls . Lucas then transferred to the in . USC was one of the earliest universities to have a school devoted to . During the years at USC , George Lucas shared a dorm room with . Lucas was deeply influenced by the Filmic Expression course taught at the school by filmmaker which concentrated on the non - narrative elements of Film Form like color , light , movement , space , and time . Another huge inspiration was the Serbian montagist ( and dean of the USC Film Department ) who had been a colleague of before moving to Hollywood to make stunning sequences for studio features at and . Vorkapich taught the autonomous nature of the cinematic art form , emphasizing the unique dynamic quality of movement and kinetic energy inherent in moving film images . Lucas saw many inspiring movies in class , particularly the visual films coming out of the like " " , the French - Canadian " 60 Cycles " , the work of , and the documentaries of . Lucas fell madly in love with and quickly became prolific at making 16 mm nonstory noncharacter visual tone poems and cinema verite with such titles as " Look At Life " , " Herbie " , " 1 : 42 . 08 " , " The Emperor " , " Anyone Lived in a Pretty ( how ) Town " , " filmmaker " , and " 6 - 18 - 67 " . He was passionate and interested in cinematography and editing , defining himself as a filmmaker as opposed to being a director , and he loved making abstract visual films that create emotions purely through cinema . After graduating with a bachelor of in film in 1967 , he drifted a little , trying to figure out what to do next . He tried joining the as an officer , but was turned down because of his numerous speeding tickets . He was later drafted by the Army , but tests showed he had , the disease that killed his paternal grandfather . Lucas was prescribed medication for the disease , but his symptoms are sufficiently mild that he does not require insulin and would not be considered diabetic under the disease ' s current classification . In 1967 , Lucas re - enrolled as a USC graduate student in film production . Working as a teaching instructor for a class of students who were being taught documentary cinematography , Lucas directed the short film " " , which won first prize at the 1967 - 68 National Student , and was later adapted into his first full - length , " THX 1138 " . Lucas was awarded a scholarship by to observe the making of " " ( 1968 ) which was being directed by Francis Ford Coppola , who at the time was revered among film - school students as a cinema graduate who had " made it . " Film career . Lucas co - founded the studio with Coppola — whom he met during his internship at Warner Brothers — hoping to create a liberating environment for filmmakers to direct outside the perceived oppressive control of the . American Zoetrope never really succeeded , but from the financial success of his films " " ( 1973 ) and , is highly regarded in the gaming industry . San Anselmo is a city in California and arguably , according to George Lucas , the birthplace of " Star Wars " . On June 20 , 2013 , George Lucas donated two bronze statues to Imagination Park . The statues were of Yoda and the first life - sized statue of Indiana Jones . Following the success of " American Graffiti " , Lucas proposed a new " " film adaptation , but the rights were not available . Under the American Zoetrope banner Lucas developed " " to direct following work on " Star Wars " . As work on " Star Wars " dragged on , Coppola took over directing " Apocalypse Now " , leading to the breakdown of the American Zoetrope partnership . Lucas was also influential in the development of industry - standard post - production tools such as the Avid Film and Video non - linear editor , first developed as the Edit Droid , and the Sound Droid , which later became the Digidesign Pro Tools sound editing and mixing software . The animation studio was founded as the Graphics Group , one third of the Computer Division of Lucasfilm . Pixar ' s early computer graphics research resulted in groundbreaking effects in films such as " " and " " , and the group was purchased in 1986 by shortly after he left . Jobs paid 5 million to Lucas and put U . S . $ 5 million as capital into the company . The sale reflected Lucas ' s desire to stop the cash - flow losses associated with his seven - year research projects associated with new entertainment technology tools , as well as his company ' s new focus on creating entertainment products rather than tools . A contributing factor was cash - flow difficulties following Lucas ' s 1983 divorce concurrent with the sudden drop - off in revenues from " Star Wars " licenses following the release of " " . ( Some twenty years later , on January 24 , 2006 , Disney announced that it had agreed to buy Pixar for approximately $ 7 . 4 billion in an . ) On a return - on - investment basis , " Star Wars " proved to be one of the most successful films of all time . During the filming of " Star Wars " , Lucas waived his up - front fee as director and negotiated to own the licensing rights — rights which the studio thought were nearly worthless . This decision earned him hundreds of millions of dollars , as he was able to directly profit from all the licensed games , toys , and collectibles created for the franchise . In 2006 " " estimated Lucas ' s personal wealth at U . S . $ 3 . 5 billion . In 2005 Forbes . com estimated the lifetime revenue generated by the " Star Wars " franchise at nearly $ 20 billion . Some considered " Star Wars " to be the first " high concept " film , while others feel the first was Steven Spielberg ' s " " , released two years prior . In fact , Lucas and Spielberg had been acquaintances for some time and eventually worked together on several films , notably the first Indiana Jones vehicle , " " in 1981 . Along with Spielberg , Lucas is credited with ( and even blamed for ) establishing the approach to filmmaking . Lucas and director Steven Spielberg enjoy a friendship that dates to their college years , and that has resulted in collaborations on films including the Indiana Jones movies " " ( 1981 ) , " " ( 1984 ) , " " ( 1989 ) , and " " ( 2008 ) . The fined Lucas for refusing to have a standard title sequence in his " Star Wars " films . After paying the fine , he quit the guild . This made it hard for him to find a director for some of his later projects . According to some , he wanted his friend Spielberg to direct some of the later " Star Wars " movies , but as a member of the guild Spielberg may have been unable to do so . Spielberg has repeatedly stated that Lucas consciously did not let him direct any " Star Wars " films , despite the fact that Spielberg wanted to . Other directors Lucas pursued to aid him were and , both of whom declined . Lucas was influential in the development of industry - standard post - production tools such as the Avid Film and Video non - linear editor , first developed as the Edit Droid , and the Sound Droid , which later became the Digidesign Pro Tools sound editing and mixing software . On October 3 , 1994 , Lucas started to write the three " Star Wars " prequels , and on November 1 that year , he left the day - to - day operations of his filmmaking business and started a sabbatical to finish the prequels . He recently announced that he would produce a about " Star Wars " , which would take place between episodes III and IV . Lucas purportedly also announced that he plans on making two additional " Star Wars " films that will take place after " Return of the Jedi " , but this rumor was debunked at Celebration IV in Los Angeles , California , in May 2007 . When Steve Sansweet , Director of Content Management and Head of Fan Relations at Lucasfilm , was asked about the proposed two films post – " Return of the Jedi " , he stated that it was a misunderstanding of what Lucas was explaining . According to Sansweet , Lucas was referring to the two " Star Wars " television projects then in production : " Star Wars : Clone Wars " which is a CG animated show that debuted October 3 , 2008 , and a yet - to - be - titled " Star Wars " live - action show that was set to premiere in 2009 , the development status of which is currently uncertain . Lucas appears in an interview on the January 15 , 2008 DVD release of the " " episode " , " which parodied . After The Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm , Lucas provided story material for the seventh film , which would ultimately be titled . Disney , however , ultimately chose not to use Lucas ' s story ideas in the final film . In interviews regarding the matter , Lucas stated that Disney " … looked at the stories and they said , ' We want to make something for the fans . ' People don ' t actually realize it ' s actually a soap opera and it ' s all about family problems – it ' s not about spaceships . So they decided they didn ’ t want to use those stories , they decided they were going to do their own thing so I decided , ' fine … . I ' ll go my way and I let them go their way . Innovations in film . Besides his directorial and production work on movies , Lucas is one of the most significant contemporary contributors to modern movie technology . In 1975 Lucas established Industrial Light & Magic ( ILM ) in , which was responsible for the invention of the special computer - assisted camera crane " " that was used for most of the space fight sequences in the " Star Wars " movies ( technology which was later adopted by most other visual effects production units , such as those responsible for " " — considered very similar to " Star Wars " by many — and " " ) . Through ILM , Lucas spurred the further development of computer graphics , , and the earliest use of in a film , " " . Lucas sold his early computer development unit to in 1988 , which was renamed . Lucas is also responsible for the modern found in many movie theaters . Though Lucas didn ' t invent , he is responsible for its development . Now Lucas is spearheading digital photography for movies . Though personal is now mainstream , most movie studios still use traditional cameras and film for movie production . Lucas departed from this model by filming completely digitally . He showed the result to a select audience of the Hollywood elite , before the movie ' s general release . For the presentation , Lucas used a special digital projection system . The attendees said the movie had the clearest and sharpest presentation they had ever seen . Despite the successful demonstration of the technology , movie studios are slow to move to this new model , in part because of the high price of the digital equipment . But digital movie photography has several advantages : Awards , donations and other activities . Lucas was nominated for four Academy Awards : and for " American Graffiti " , and and for " Star Wars " . He also received the Academy ' s in 1991 . He appeared at the 79th Academy Awards ceremony in 2007 with Steven Spielberg and Francis Ford Coppola to present the . During the speech , Spielberg and Coppola talked about the joy of winning an Oscar , making fun of Lucas , who has not won a competitive Oscar . The awarded Lucas its 2005 on June 9 , 2005 . This was shortly after the release of , to which he jokingly made reference in his acceptance speech , stating that , since he views the entire " Star Wars " series as one movie , he could actually receive the award now that he had finally " gone back and finished the movie . " On June 5 , 2005 , Lucas was named 100th " " by the . In 2005 , Lucas donated 1 million to help build the on the in to commemorate American leader . On September 19 , 2006 , USC announced that George Lucas had donated $ 175 million to his to expand the film school . It is the largest single donation to USC and the largest gift to a film school . Previous donations led to the already existing George Lucas Instructional Building and Marcia Lucas Post - Production building . In 1991 , The George Lucas Educational Foundation was founded as a nonprofit operating foundation to celebrate and encourage innovation in schools . The Foundation ' s content is available under the brand , in an award - winning magazine , on a website and via documentary films . On January 1 , 2007 George Lucas served as the for the 2007 , and made the coin toss at the . The toss favored Lucas ' s alma mater , the . His team , which came into the game as , went on to defeat the ( 32 - 18 ) . On June 12 , 2013 , George Lucas received the Nora Zarky Humanitarian Award , an award for those who demonstrated support for the advancement of equal opportunity for all . < ref name = " http : / / www . foxnews . com / entertainment / 2013 / 06 / 13 / george - lucas - receives - women - in - film - honor - urges - twice - as - much - money - be - spent - on / " > " " < / ref > On July 10 , 2013 , George Lucas received the National Medal of Arts from United States President Barack Obama himself , inside the White House . < ref name = " http : / / www . aceshowbiz . com / news / view / 00061882 . html " > " " < / ref > On September 20 , 2013 , SFMOMA hosted a party for the Bay Area Treasure Award , and honored George Lucas for the year . < ref name = " https : / / www . facebook . com / photo . php ? fbid = 617202184986475 & set = a . 549460711760623 . 1073741828 . 541978249175536 & type = 1 & theater " > " Facebook . com " < / ref > On February 9 , 2018 , it was reported that Lucas had helped to direct a scene in " " , which is scheduled to be released on May 25 , 2018 . Personal life . In 1969 , Lucas married film editor Marcia Lou Griffin , who went on to win an for her editing work on the . They adopted a daughter , Amanda ( b . 1981 ) , before divorcing in 1983 . Lucas subsequently adopted two more children as a single parent : daughter Katie ( b . 1988 ) and son Jett ( b . 1993 ) . Lucas began dating Mellody Hobson , president of Ariel Investments and chair of DreamWorks Animation , in 2006 . She accompanied him to the 79th Academy Awards ceremony in February 2007 . As of January 2013 , George Lucas became engaged to Hobson . The two were married on Saturday , June 22 , 2013 at Skywalker Ranch . They have one daughter together , Everest Hobson Lucas , who was born via gestational carrier on August 12 , 2013 . Lucas was born and raised in a strongly family . After inserting religious themes into " Star Wars " he would eventually come to identify strongly with the Eastern religious philosophies he studied and incorporated into his movies , which were a major inspiration for " the Force . " Lucas eventually came to state that his religion was " Methodist . " Lucas is a well - known aficionado of cars and racing . Filmography / Bibliography . Novels . Lucas also served as a producer on the video game " " , and many Expanded Universe and fan productions have one form or another of the credit " Special thanks to George Lucas . " Criticism . George Lucas receives a large amount of negative attention from fans who claim that his recent actions influencing the " Star Wars " galaxy detract from the overall value of the saga . People who argue this point vehemently are sometimes called " Lucas Bashers . " Lucas bashing is a form of criticism of the works of George Lucas . Whereas normal criticism typically involves pragmatic engagement on the artistic merits of a work , Lucas bashing is characterised by a prejudicial stance often combined with personal attacks . Filmmaking style and trademarks . A common theme throughout Lucas ' s works is escape . Lucas ' s films tend to emphasize visuals and plot . They often include chase scenes of some sort , and are often edited to move along at a fast pace . Lucas has a love of the past , and many of his works indicate this ( " American Graffiti " , the " Star Wars " and " Indiana Jones " films , " The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles " , " Radioland Murders " , and " Red Tales " . ) Additionally , his USC student films and " THX 1138 " were designed to be abstract and esoteric . Trivia . Lucas considers himself a " " and has cited " " as his inspiration for working with sci - fi . He also finds hypothetical " war " scenarios distasteful . In 1976 , Lucas published a novelization of " A New Hope " , which was initially ( like the film ) titled just " Star Wars " . Although Lucas was credited as author of the book , it was later revealed that the book was actually by Alan Dean Foster , who would also write " Splinter of the Mind ' s Eye " , the first original " Star Wars " novel and , in many respects , the first " Star Wars " sequel . Lucas is a member of the United Methodist Church , though he claims that he doesn ' t believe in a specific religion , due to his college studies . In his spare time , Lucas enjoys playing " Star Wars " video games with his children . He has also been known to read some of the " Star Wars " comic books , including " Dark Empire " . At one point , Lucas even said that he liked the story presented in the " " multimedia project so well , that if he had had the story in the 1980s , he might have produced a film based on the events in it ; in addition , Dash Rendar ' s " Outrider " was added leaving Mos Eisley during the special edition of " A New Hope " . In addition to his role as Baron Notluwiski Papanoida , Lucas has made two Expanded Universe appearances . His name was modified for Egroeg Sacul , a character paged on the " Star Tours " ride , and his likeness was used for a limited - edition action figure of a character called Jorg Sacul . Lucas also appears twice in the Tag and Bink comics . He appears in " " in Dex ' s Diner and is depicted among the many characters chasing Tag Greenley and Bink Otauna on the back of the " Tag and Bink Were Here " trade paperback . Lucas also appears in the of the " " comic . On June 5 , 2005 , Lucas was named the 100th " " by the . In , there ' s a bust of George Lucas in the Jedi Archives . In the non - canon special " " , George Lucas makes an appearance , where he has to herd Darth Vader off screen after Vader interrupts scenes by inserting himself into them . He eventually tells Vader to get off of the set .