Robert MacDonald (special effects artist)

Robert Andrew MacDonald (born July 16, 1912 in Los Angeles County , California , † May 12, 1989 in Camarillo , California) was an American special effects artist who in 1960 for the monumental film Ben Hur and 1963 for the war film The Longest Day with a Oscar was awarded.

He was also nominated for an Oscar in 1946 with the war drama Schnellboats off Bataan .

Life

In 1946 , when he was first involved in a film, MacDonald, along with A. Arnold Gillespie , Donald Jahraus, and Michael Steinore, received an Oscar nomination in the “Best Special Effects” category for the war film Speed ​​Boats Off Bataan, starring Robert Montgomery , John Wayne and Donna Reed in the main roles. However, the award went to John P. Fulton and Arthur Johns and the ghost film The Wonder Man . This was followed by the Oscar-winning monumental films Ben Hur (1959) by William Wyler with Charlton Heston , Haya Harareet and Stephen Boyd and The Longest Day (1962), one of the most lavish war films ever, for which four directors were responsible for each of the different storylines.

In 1965, MacDonald was in the comedy What's New, Pussy? with Peter Sellers , Peter O'Toole and Romy Schneider responsible for the special effects. The western Der Texaner by and with Clint Eastwood was on his program in 1976, and in 1978 the action drama Superman with Christopher Reeve . At the beginning of the eighties he turned to comedic horror films and adventure films with Gremlins - Kleine Monster (1984), Enemy Mine - Geliebter Feind (1985) by Wolfgang Petersen with Dennis Quaid and Louis Gossett junior and his last film Howard - Ein Tierischer Held ( 1986), in which he was in charge of all special effects.

Filmography (selection)

• 1945: Speedboats in front of Bataan (They Were Expendable)
• 1959: Ben Hur
• 1962: The Longest Day (The Longest Day)
• 1965: what's new, pussy? (What's New Pussycat?)
• 1966: is Paris on fire? (Paris brûle-t-il?)
• 1968: Die Platinblonde (The Biggest Bundle of Them All)
• 1968: The Charge of the Light Brigade
• 1969: Alfred the Great - Vanquisher of the Vikings (Alfred the Great)
• 1970: Ryan's Daughter (Ryan's Daughter)
• 1972: Is' what, Doc? (What's Up, Doc?)
• 1975: The Lonely Job (Report to the Commissioner)
• 1975: Doc Savage : The Man of Bronze
• 1976: The Texan (The Outlaw Josey Wales)
• 1977 March or Die (March or die)
• 1978: The Heaven Can Wait (Heaven Can Wait)
• 1978: Superman
• 1980: The day the world ended (When Time Ran Out ...)
• 1982: Beloved Giorgio (Yes, Giorgio)
• 1984: Gremlins - Little Monsters (Gremlins)
• 1985: Explorers - A Fantastic Adventure (Explorers)
• 1985: Enemy Mine - Enemy Mine
• 1986: Howard - the Duck (Howard the Duck)

Awards

• 1946 : Oscar nomination for speedboats off Bataan
• 1960 : Winner of the Oscars for Ben Hur
  together with A. Arnold Gillespie (Visual Effects) and Milo B. Lory (Audible Effects)
• 1963 : Winner of the Oscars for The Longest Day
  with Jacques Maumont (Acoustic Effects)

Web links

• Robert MacDonald in theInternet Movie Database(English)
• Robert MacDonald at TCM - Turner Classic Movies (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Alternative names : Robert A. MacDonald, Rob MacDonald, Bob MacDonald Sr., Rob MacDonald Sr., Robert MacDonald Sr., M. MacDonald, Robert Macdonald, Bob MacDonald Sen., RA MacDonald
2. ^ Robert A. MacDonald in the California Birth Index
3. ↑ Robert Andrew MacDonald Sr. at findagrave.com (English)
4. ↑ The 18th Academy Awards | 1946 at oscars.org (English)
5. ↑ The 32nd Academy Awards | 1960 at oscars.org (English)
6. ↑ The 35th Academy Awards | 1963 at oscars.org (English)