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Ralph McQuarrie

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Artist

The Resume

    (June 13, 1929-March 3, 2012)
    Born in Gary, Indiana
    Illustrator and conceptual artist for 'Star Wars' (1977), 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' (1977), 'Battlestar Galactica' (1978-79), 'The Empire Strikes Back' (1980), 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial' (1982), 'Return of the Jedi' (1983), 'Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home' (1986) and 'Jurassic Park' (1993)
    Won an Oscar for Best Visual Effects for 'Cocoon' (1985)

Why he might be annoying:

    Before his filmwork, he was an illustrator for a dental business, drawing teeth and dentists' tools.
    He said about 'Star Wars,' 'I didn't think the film would ever get made. My impression was it was too expensive. There wouldn't be enough of an audience.'
    When he had a cameo in 'The Empire Strikes Back' as a rebel general, the character was given the first name 'Pharl' (an anagram of 'Ralph').

Why he might not be annoying:

    He survived a bullet to the head during the Korean War.
    He provided animated sequences for CBS's coverage of the Apollo missions.
    His paintings helped convince 20th Century Fox to fund 'Star Wars' after two other studios had rejected it based on the script.
    George Lucas said, 'When words could not convey my ideas, I could always point to one of Ralph's fabulous illustrations and say, 'do it like this.' '

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 7 Votes: 28.57% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 13 Votes: 61.54% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 6 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 139 Votes: 56.12% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 132 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 495 Votes: 54.34% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 313 Votes: 58.79% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 104 Votes: 50.96% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 12 Votes: 41.67% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 11 Votes: 36.36% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 157 Votes: 49.04% Annoying