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IMDbPro

Willis H. O'Brien(1886-1962)

  • Special Effects
  • Director
  • Writer
IMDbProStarmeter
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Willis H. O'Brien in Mighty Joe Young (1949)
In 1949, 16 years after his ground-breaking work on the 1933 film "King Kong", Willis O'Brien worked as Chief Technician on another gorilla film for Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Shoedsack titled "Mighty Joe Young". A young Ray Harryhausen would do most of the animation, but O'Brien did come up with the designs for the film. At the 1950 Academy Awards, O'Brien was awarded an Oscar for Best Visual Effects for "Mighty Joe Young". This, along with "King Kong", are often considered his greatest achievements.
BornMarch 2, 1886
DiedNovember 8, 1962(76)
BornMarch 2, 1886
DiedNovember 8, 1962(76)
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
  • Awards

Photos10

Merian C. Cooper, Willis H. O'Brien, Ernest B. Schoedsack, and Fay Wray in King Kong (1933)
Willis H. O'Brien
Willis H. O'Brien
Merian C. Cooper, Willis H. O'Brien, Ernest B. Schoedsack, and Fay Wray in King Kong (1933)
Ian Batchelor, Primo Carnera, Karl 'Killer' Davis, William 'Wee Willie' Davis, Henry Kulky, Man Mountain Dean, Sammy Menacker, Terry Moore, Willis H. O'Brien, Phil Olafsson, Ivan Rasputin, Ernest B. Schoedsack, Sammy Stein, and Robert Johnson in Mighty Joe Young (1949)
Willis H. O'Brien
Willis H. O'Brien
Willis H. O'Brien
Willis H. O'Brien

Known for

King Kong (1933)
King Kong
7.9
  • Additional Crew
  • 1933
Guy Madison and Patricia Medina in The Beast of Hollow Mountain (1956)
The Beast of Hollow Mountain
4.1
  • Writer(as Willis O'Brien)
  • 1956
The Lost World (1925)
The Lost World
7.0
  • Special Effects(uncredited)
  • 1925
Mighty Joe Young (1949)
Mighty Joe Young
7.0
  • Special Effects(as Willis O'Brien)
  • 1949

Credits

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IMDbPro

Special Effects

  • The Black Scorpion (1957)
    The Black Scorpion
    • (as Willis O'Brien)
  • Mighty Joe Young (1949)
    Mighty Joe Young
    • (as Willis O'Brien)
  • Robert Armstrong and Helen Mack in Son of Kong (1933)
    Son of Kong
    • (uncredited)
  • Creation (1931)
    Creation
  • The Lost World (1925)
    The Lost World
    • (uncredited)
  • The Ghost of Slumber Mountain (1918)
    The Ghost of Slumber Mountain
    • (uncredited)
  • R.F.D. 10, 000 B.C. (1917)
    R.F.D. 10, 000 B.C.
  • Prehistoric Poultry (1916)
    Prehistoric Poultry
  • Morpheus Mike
  • The Dinosaur and the Missing Link: A Prehistoric Tragedy (1915)
    The Dinosaur and the Missing Link: A Prehistoric Tragedy

Director

  • Creation (1931)
    Creation
    • (uncredited)
  • Along the Moonbeam Trail (1920)
    Along the Moonbeam Trail
  • The Ghost of Slumber Mountain (1918)
    The Ghost of Slumber Mountain
    • (uncredited)
  • Curious Pets of Our Ancestors
  • The Birth of a Flivver
  • R.F.D. 10, 000 B.C. (1917)
    R.F.D. 10, 000 B.C.
  • Prehistoric Poultry (1916)
    Prehistoric Poultry
  • Morpheus Mike
  • The Dinosaur and the Missing Link: A Prehistoric Tragedy (1915)
    The Dinosaur and the Missing Link: A Prehistoric Tragedy

Writer

  • Emilio and His Magical Bull
  • The Valley of Gwangi (1969)
    The Valley of Gwangi
    • (uncredited)
  • King Kong vs. Godzilla (1963)
    King Kong vs. Godzilla
    • (uncredited)
  • King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
    King Kong vs. Godzilla
    • (uncredited)
  • Guy Madison and Patricia Medina in The Beast of Hollow Mountain (1956)
    The Beast of Hollow Mountain
    • (as Willis O'Brien)
  • Creation (1931)
    Creation
    • (uncredited)
  • The Ghost of Slumber Mountain (1918)
    The Ghost of Slumber Mountain
    • (uncredited)

Personal details

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    • March 2, 1886
    • Oakland, California, USA
    • November 8, 1962
    • Los Angeles, California, USA(heart attack)
    • November 17, 1934 - November 8, 1962 (his death)
  • Publicity listings
    • 5 Print Biographies
    • 5 Articles

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    His first marriage to Hazel Collette was a troubled and uneasy affair. By 1930 it had been dissolved, but not before having produced two sons, William and Willis Jr. Hazel suffered from tuberculosis and was often heavily sedated. The disease then spread to William and blinded him. In the fall of 1933, during the production of the film Son of Kong (1933), Hazel shot and killed her two sons and then turned the gun on herself. She survived the incident, but died from cancer and tuberculosis soon afterward.
    • Stop Motion Technology

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