The Life of Ray Harryhausen (Part One): Early Life

Raymond Frederick Harryhausen was born on 29^th June 1920, in Los Angeles, California. His parents Fred and Martha were very supportive, and encouraged him to pursue his own interests. Harryhausen’s profound investment in the field of fantasy was therefore provoked, in part, by his parents. In his spare time, he enjoyed museums, marionette shows, and fantasy novels and films. At the age of 5, his parents took him to see The Lost World (1925). The feature fascinated him, in that it seemingly displayed ‘living’ dinosaurs. At Grammar school, he was taught how to make models, which eventually developed into something of a fascination, leading to his honing his skills on creating three-dimensional prehistoric-themed models. This interest in prehistory also partly stemmed from his visits to the LA County Museum, where he admired murals of influential American artist Charles R. Knight. In spring 1938, an 18-year-old Harryhausen submitted a diorama of a stegosaurus, based on these murals, to a competition based at the museum, and won first prize.

King Kong (1933)

The 1933 film King Kong perhaps had a greater impact on his life than any other. After having seen the film, he recreated some of the seemingly live models in the form of marionettes. Evidently, Harryhausen was beginning to ponder just *how* the onscreen creatures were able to become mobile. This led to his researching articles about stop-motion techniques. In addition, he attended an exhibition at the LA County Museum, concerning the making of the fantasy films he had seen. He then proceeded to experiment making prehistoric-themed models, including a cave bear and a number of dinosaurs. Initially, he created the armatures out of wood, which unfortunately did not maintain their poses. He also filmed the footage in his parents’ garden, inevitably leading to the realisation that the light moved throughout the film. He later relocated to the garage, and purchased lights and a new, more practical camera, resulting in smoother animation.

The incomplete Evolution of the World

At the age of 18, Harryhausen embarked on his most ambitious project, entitled Evolution of the World, which involved the construction of numerous dinosaur figures, including a Tyrannosaurus Rex, a Triceratops, and a Pterodactyl. However, when he saw Disney’s Fantasia (1940), he knew he could not compete with the ‘Rite of Spring’ sequence. Around this time, he met Willis O’Brien, the man who created and animated the creatures in the fantasy films he had seen. He contacted him at MGM, and eventually seized the opportunity to present to him his models. O’Brien’s response was constructive criticism of the lack of attention given to anatomical structure. Harryhausen notably took heed, and enrolled at the Los Angeles City College, studying art and anatomy in evening classes. In addition, he later attended the University of Southern California to study film techniques.

Images obtained from:

Jason and the Argonauts. [DVD] (2010) Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.