Willis H. O'Brien

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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(s)	Oscar Award winning Stop motion model animator
Years active	1915–1962
Spouse(s)	Hazel Ruth Collette (1925–1930; divorce) Darlyne Prenett (1934–1962; his death)
Children	2
Awards	Academy Award Best Visual Effects (1950); Winsor McCay Award (1997)

Willis Harold O'Brien (March 2, 1886 – November 8, 1962), known as Obie O'Brien, was an American motion picture special effects and stop-motion animation pioneer, who according to ASIFA-Hollywood "was responsible for some of the best-known images in cinema history," and is best remembered for his work on The Lost World (1925), King Kong (1933), The Last Days of Pompeii (1935) and Mighty Joe Young (1949), for which he won the 1950 Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.^[1]