In 1992, Ray Harryhausen received an honorary Academy Award (the Gordon E. Sawyer Award) for his career in special effects in the cinema. The Master of Ceremonies for the event was a very young Tom Hanks. And presenting the Oscar to Ray Harryhausen was his life-long friend, Ray Bradbury. To see that Oscar presentation, just click on the link below:
In 2010, BAFTA (The British Academy of Film and Television Arts) paid tribute to special effect artist Ray Harryhausen. The host for the presentation was Harryhausen friend and admirer, filmmaker John Landis (director of such films as BLUES BROTHERS and BEVERLY HILLS COP). And appearing via film at the tribute was Ray Bradbury, speaking of his love for his dear friend Ray Harryhausen. To hear what Ray Bradbury had to say on that occasion, click on the link below:
The link below will take you to a brief 2013 Turner Classic Movies tribute to animator, and close Ray Bradbury friend, Ray Harryhausen, which aired shorty after his death:
The link below will take you to a new short film, KING OF THE MONSTERS, about the life and work of Ray Bradbury's life-long friend, Academy Award-winning special effects artist Ray Harryhausen:
In memory of Kathryn Grant, who died just a few days ago, but especially in honor of the memory of the late stop-motion animator (and life-long Ray Bradbury friend) Ray Harryhausen, the link below will take you to the film THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD, which is available for viewing for free on YouTube. The film was released in 1958, and contains some of the finest stop-motion animation I have ever seen. As I have mentioned on this Board before, I still vividly remember seeing the movie on its original release (I returned the next day to see it again!), and went around for days humming Bernard Herrmann's brilliant score. And something I could never have dreamed as a child: forty-two years later, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the surprise 80th birthday party for Mr. Harryhausen held in the back yard of the home of the British Consulate in Beverly Hills, California, at which I met SINBAD's director Nathan Juran. That party also featured film tributes from some friends and admirers who were unable to attend in person, including some fellow named Steven Spielberg and one Ray Bradbury. If you have never seen this film before, you are in for a treat! Enjoy!
