Ben Burtt facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ben Burtt
Burtt at Star Wars Celebration Europe II in Essen, Germany in 2013
Born	Benjamin Burtt Jr. (1948-07-12) July 12, 1948 (age 76) Jamesville, New York, U.S.
Education	Allegheny College
Alma mater	University of Southern California
Occupation	Sound designer film director film editor screenwriter voice actor
Years active	1975–present
Children	Benjamin A. Burtt
Awards	Doctor of Arts Charles S. Swartz Award Academy Award

Ben Burtt (born July 12, 1948) is a super talented American sound designer, film director, editor, writer, and voice actor. He is famous for creating many of the amazing sounds you hear in movies like Star Wars and Indiana Jones. He also made the voice for WALL-E, the cute robot from the Pixar movie!

Burtt is known for making the 'voice' of R2-D2, the cool hum of a lightsaber, the sound of blaster guns, and the heavy breathing of Darth Vader in Star Wars. He even created the language for the Ewoks, called Ewokese! He also helped make the Wilhelm scream famous, which is a funny sound effect used in many movies.

Ben Burtt has won four Academy Awards, which are like the Oscars for movies. He has also directed many documentary films for IMAX and worked on the TV series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. He was also an editor for the Star Wars prequel trilogy.

Early Life of Ben Burtt

Ben Burtt was born in Jamesville, New York, on July 12, 1948. His dad was a chemistry professor, and his mom was a child psychologist. Even as a kid, Ben loved making films. Later, he studied physics at Allegheny College in Pennsylvania, graduating in 1970.

Ben Burtt's Career

Starting Out in Film

Ben made films during his time in college. In 1970, he won a big award at the National Student Film Festival for his war movie called Yankee Squadron. He had made an amateur film earlier at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, which is a museum with old airplanes.

For his work on a special effects film called Genesis, Ben won a scholarship to the University of Southern California. There, he earned a master's degree in film production.

Becoming a Sound Designer

Ben Burtt was a pioneer in modern sound design, especially for science-fiction and fantasy movies. Before he worked on the first Star Wars movie in 1977, sci-fi films usually used electronic sounds for futuristic things. Ben wanted more natural sounds. He would blend "found sounds" – everyday noises – to create his effects.

• The lightsaber hum, for example, came from a film projector running and feedback from a broken TV set.
• The blaster sound started with the noise made by hitting a guy-wire on a radio tower with a hammer.
• For R2-D2's beeps and whistles, Ben used his own voice mixed with sounds from a special synthesizer.
• The heavy breathing of Darth Vader was created by recording Ben's own breathing through an old scuba diving regulator.
• He used the voice of an elderly lady he met in a photography shop for the voice of E.T..
• Ben also created the "voice" for WALL-E and other robots in the 2008 Pixar film WALL-E.
• He was also in charge of the sound effects for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008).

Ben Burtt is famous for including a sound effect called the "Wilhelm scream" in many movies he has worked on. This sound comes from a character named "Wilhelm" in an old movie called The Charge at Feather River. You can hear it in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope when a stormtrooper falls, and in Raiders of the Lost Ark when a soldier falls from a moving car.

One of Ben's clever sound effects is the "audio black hole." In Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, he put a very short moment of complete silence in the sound track just before "seismic charges" exploded. This tiny bit of silence makes the explosion sound even bigger and more powerful to the listener!

Director, Editor, and Writer

Ben Burtt has directed several IMAX documentary films, including Blue Planet and Special Effects: Anything Can Happen, which was nominated for an Oscar. He edited the entire Star Wars prequel trilogy and several episodes of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. Ben also wrote some episodes for the 1980s Star Wars cartoon Droids.

Movie Cameos

Ben Burtt has even made small appearances in two Star Wars films!

• In Return of the Jedi, he played Colonel Dyer, an Imperial officer. When his character falls off a balcony, the scream you hear is Ben's own imitation of the Wilhelm scream!
• In Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Ben appears in the background when Palpatine arrives on Naboo. His character is named Ebenn Q3 Baobab, which is a nod to a character from the Droids cartoon.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video Games

• WALL-E (2008) - WALL•E / M-O / Robots
• Lego The Incredibles (2018) - WALL•E
• Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (2019) - BD-1
• Disney Dreamlight Valley (2023) - WALL•E
• Disney Speedstorm (2023) - WALL•E

Awards and Honors

Academy Awards

Ben Burtt has won several Academy Awards (Oscars) for his amazing sound work:

• Best Sound Effects Editing in 1989 for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
• Best Sound Effects Editing in 1982 for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
• Special Achievement for Sound Effects Editing in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
• Special Achievement for Sound Effects Editing in Star Wars (1977)

He was also nominated for many other Academy Awards, including for his work on WALL-E and Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

Other Awards

• He was nominated for an Annie Award in 2008 for his voice work in WALL-E.
• Allegheny College gave him an honorary Doctor of Arts degree in 2004.
• The Hollywood Post Alliance gave him the Charles S. Swartz Award for his great contributions to film production.
• In 2024, he received the Vision Award Ticinomoda at the 77th Locarno Film Festival.

See also

In Spanish: Ben Burtt para niños