Ray Harryhausen Dies: Visual Effects Legend Responsible For Star Wars Dead At 92; How Did He Die?

The family of Ray Harryhausen mournfully announced today that the visual effects and stop-motion animation legend has died at age 92.

The family used the official Facebook page of the Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation to make their announcement writing, "The Harryhausen family regret to announce the death of Ray Harryhausen, Visual Effects pioneer and stop-motion model animator. He was a multi-award winner which includes a special Oscar and BAFTA. Ray's influence on today's film makers was enormous, with luminaries; Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Peter Jackson, George Lucas, John Landis and the UK's own Nick Park have cited Harryhausen as being the man whose work inspired their own creations."

Harryhausen passed away on Tuesday in London, his legacy as a producer and director as well as a model animator lives on through the iconic films he helped create.

Harryhausen was an incredibly influential figure in Hollywood, director of Star Wars, George Lucas stated "Ray has been a great inspiration to us all in the special visual industry. The art of his earlier films, which most of us grew up on, inspired us so much. Without Ray Harryhausen, there would likely have been no Star Wars."

Harryhausen perfected the laborious technique of stop-motion animation, as he single handely created the visusal effects for 16 iconic films from the 1950's into the 1980's.

He received a special Academy Award for career achievement in 1992.

Director Peter Jackson also praised Harryhausen's work stating, "The Lord of the Rings is my Ray Harryhausen movie. Without his lifelong love of his wondrous images and storytelling it would never have been made - not by me, at least."