Willis H. O'Brien facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Willis O'Brien
O'Brien in 1931
Born	Willis Harold O'Brien (1886-03-02)March 2, 1886 Oakland, California, U.S.
Died	November 8, 1962(1962-11-08) (aged 76) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Chapel of the Pines Crematory
Other names	Obie
Occupation	Oscar Award winning Stop motion model animator
Years active	1915–1962
Spouse(s)	Hazel Ruth Collette (1925–1930) (divorce) Darlyne Prenett (1933–1962) (his death)
Awards	Academy Award Best Visual Effects (1950); Winsor McCay Award (1997)

Willis Harold O'Brien (March 2, 1886 – November 8, 1962) was a famous American special effects artist. He was a pioneer in stop-motion animation, which means he made models move frame by frame to create movie magic. He's known for creating amazing creatures in films like The Lost World (1925) and the classic King Kong (1933). He even won an Academy Award for his work on Mighty Joe Young (1949).

Early Life and Discovering Animation

Willis O'Brien was born in Oakland, California. He started working at a young age, doing many different jobs like a farmhand, cowboy, and even a fur trapper. During this time, he became very interested in dinosaurs. He even helped palaeontologists (scientists who study fossils) as a guide in the Crater Lake area.

O'Brien loved to sculpt and draw in his free time. His talent led him to work as a cartoonist for a newspaper. He also tried professional boxing! Later, he worked for the railroad and as a sculptor. At the 1915 San Francisco World's Fair, he displayed some of his work. It was here that he started making models, including a dinosaur and a caveman. He learned to animate them with the help of a local cameraman.

First Films and Big Breaks

A film exhibitor named Herman Wobber saw O'Brien's short animation test. He was so impressed that he asked O'Brien to make his first film, The Dinosaur and the Missing Link: A Prehistoric Tragedy (1915).

The famous inventor Thomas Edison also liked O'Brien's work. Edison hired him to create a series of short films about prehistoric times. These included R.F.D. 10,000 B.C. and Prehistoric Poultry (both 1917). These films were special because they were among the first to combine live actors with stop-motion models.

O'Brien then worked on The Ghost of Slumber Mountain (1918). This film was important because it combined realistic stop-motion dinosaurs with live actors. Even though there were some problems with the film's production, it helped O'Brien get noticed.

The Lost World and King Kong

His work on The Ghost of Slumber Mountain helped him get a job on The Lost World (1925). For this film, O'Brien designed detailed stop-motion models with rubber skin over metal skeletons. These models could even look like they were breathing! The author of the book, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, was so amazed by the animation that he reportedly showed it to friends, pretending it was real footage of living dinosaurs.

After The Lost World, O'Brien worked on several projects that didn't get finished. However, the head of RKO Pictures, Merian C. Cooper, saw O'Brien's amazing effects work. Cooper had an idea for a movie about a giant gorilla. This led to O'Brien working on his most famous film, the iconic King Kong (1933).

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the group that gives out Oscars) wanted to give O'Brien an Oscar for King Kong. But Willis said that all of his crew should also get an Oscar. When the Academy refused, O'Brien bravely turned down the award for himself.

Later Career and Legacy

After King Kong, O'Brien worked on its sequel, Son of Kong (1933). He also contributed to films like The Last Days of Pompeii (1935) and Dancing Pirate (1936). He even did some special effects for Orson Welles' famous movie Citizen Kane (1941).

In 1949, O'Brien worked on Mighty Joe Young. This time, he was credited as the Technical Creator and won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. He proudly accepted this award. He was helped by his talented student, Ray Harryhausen, who would later become a stop-motion legend himself.

O'Brien continued to develop new ideas for films, often involving prehistoric creatures. His ideas for Gwangi and Valley of the Mist later became movies like The Beast of Hollow Mountain (1956) and The Valley of Gwangi (1969). He also worked on The Black Scorpion (1957) and Behemoth, the Sea Monster (1959).

Willis O'Brien passed away on November 8, 1962. In 1997, he was given the Winsor McCay Award for his lifetime contributions to animation. His work inspired many filmmakers. For example, when Peter Jackson directed his King Kong movie in 2005, he dedicated it to O'Brien and others who helped create the original film. Ray Harryhausen continued to share O'Brien's story and films with fans until his own death in 2013.

Filmography

Silent shorts

• The Dinosaur and the Missing Link: A Prehistoric Tragedy (1915)
• Morpheus Mike (1917)
• Prehistoric Poultry, The Dinornis or Great Roaring Whiffenpoof (1916)
• The Birth of a Flivver (1917)
• R.F.D. 10,000 B.C.: A Mannikin Comedy (1917)
• In the Villain's Power (1917)
• Mickey's Naughty Nightmares (1917)
• Sam Lloyd's Famous Puzzles (1917)
• The Ghost of Slumber Mountain (1918)
• Along the Moonbeam Trail (1920)

Feature films

• The Lost World (1925)
• King Kong (1933)
• Son of Kong (1933)
• The Last Days of Pompeii (1935)
• Dancing Pirate (1936, matte painting)
• Going My Way (1944, matte paintings)
• The Bells of St. Mary's (1945, matte paintings)
• The Miracle of the Bells (1948, matte paintings)
• Mighty Joe Young (1949, Academy Award winner)
• This Is Cinerama (1952)
• The Animal World (1956)
• The Black Scorpion (1957)
• The Giant Behemoth (1959, also known as Behemoth, the Sea Monster)
• The Lost World (1960)
• It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963, released after his death)

Short films

• Tulips Shall Grow (1942, Academy Award nominated)

Story by

• The Beast of Hollow Mountain (1956)
• King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
• The Valley of Gwangi (1969) - based on O'Brien's idea

Abandoned project

• Creation (1931) – An unfinished film by RKO.

Images for kids

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  Willis O'Brien in 1931

See also

In Spanish: Willis O'Brien para niños