We say a fond farewell to concept designer Ralph McQuarrie, whose work on Star Wars and many other films transformed the face of cinema…
His name may not sound immediately familiar to some, but almost everyone will recognise his work; simply put, American cinema wouldn’t have been the same without the skills of concept designer and illustrator Ralph McQuarrie.
It was McQuarrie who took a few strange names and descriptions from writer and director George Lucas, and created some of the most iconic character designs of the 20th century: the look of Darth Vader, Chewbacca, and bickering droids R2-D2 and C-3PO all sprang from his drawing board, as well as many of Star Wars’ vehicles and settings.
McQuarrie provided conceptual designs for the rest of the Star Wars original trilogy, and provided equally important services on some of the greatest films of the 70s, 80s and 90s: Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Cocoon, *Batteries Not Included, and Jurassic Park, as well as television's original Battlestar Galactica series.
How sad, then, to hear that McQuarrie passed away this weekend at the age of 82. On the official Star Wars page, George Lucas payed tribute to his talented colleague.
“I am deeply saddened by the passing of such a visionary artist and such a humble man,” Lucas wrote. “Ralph McQuarrie was the first person I hired to help me envision Star Wars. His genial contribution, in the form of unequaled production paintings, propelled and inspired all of the cast and crew of the original Star Wars trilogy.”
His contribution to the Star Wars movies was such that, in The Empire Strikes Back, McQuarrie received the ultimate accolade: a brief, uncredited cameo as General Pharl McQuarrie, whose likeness was later immortalised as an action figure under the same name.
McQuarrie may be gone, but as Lucas points out, he’s left behind an extraordinary body of work – one that not only captured the imaginations of a generation of young movie goers, but also inspired a legion fellow artists and designers.
“Beyond the movies,” Lucas wrote, “his artwork has inspired at least two generations of younger artists—all of whom learned through Ralph that movies are designed… we will all be benefiting from his oeuvre for generations to come.”
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