A work in constant progress (and occasional regress).
Alias:
Lee Zavits
Birthplace:
Mount Vernon, Virginia, USA
Born:
August 20, 1904
Died:
June 2, 1977
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Leland "Lee" Zavitz (August 20, 1904– June 2, 1977) was a special effects technician. He was born in Mount Vernon, Washington. His first major impact was for his work on John Ford's 1937 film, The Hurricane. Zavitz's work on the 1950 space fantasy film Destination Moon won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. He also worked on films such as Around the World in Eighty Days (1956), The Alamo (1960), Sodom and Gomorrah (1963), The Pink Panther (1963) and John Frankenheimer's The Train (1964). His last film was Sydney Pollack's wartime chiller Castle Keep in 1969. Zavitz held patents on several devices used in his film work, including fog machines, rain bombs, an exploding wagon and "a lightning torch that can be seen for 50 miles."
Special Effects:
1937 The Hurricane
1944 Guest in the House
1945 Captain Kidd
1946 The Diary of a Chambermaid
1949 The Crooked Way
1950 Destination Moon
1951 Bride of the Gorilla
1951 The Bushwhackers
1952 Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd
1954 Bait
1954 The Snow Creature
1957 Men in War
1957 The River's Edge
1957 Witness for the Prosecution
1959 On the Beach
1963 The Pink Panther
1965 Viva Maria!
Special Effects Coordinator:
1937 The Hurricane
1944 Guest in the House
1945 Captain Kidd
1946 The Diary of a Chambermaid
1949 The Crooked Way
1950 Destination Moon
1951 Bride of the Gorilla
1951 The Bushwhackers
1952 Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd
1954 Bait
1954 The Snow Creature
1957 Men in War
1957 The River's Edge
1957 Witness for the Prosecution
1958 From the Earth to the Moon
1959 On the Beach
1963 The Pink Panther
1965 Viva Maria!
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