I can't sugar-coat this one. It trended (sadly) all over the web three days ago, and the Fan-O-Sphere had a collective group hug. I was right there alongside them. Ray Harryhausen, Master Of Dynamation, passed away at the venerable age of 92.
Way back in the mists of time, IGN magazine approached me for their "Ten Questions" feature, and I cited Ray as a particular inspiration for "fueling a kid's imagination".
My Dad similarly loved his movies before me, and some of our greatest father-son memories were sitting with Dad watching "Jason And The Argonauts" especially on vacation television (and this is back in the dawn of prehistory, when there weren't even VCRs, and you had to watch a movie through without interruption).
My dad would cook a "Special Breakfast" that accompanied "Jason" (and others), and I still think it's weird I associate the smell of grilled mushrooms with the visage of the gargantuan steel giant Talos rounding a rocky promontory. (I'm an avid collector of all things Talos, by-the-by.)
When Tom Hanks stood at the Academy Awards and cited "Jason And The Argonauts" as one of the greatest movies ever made, I felt those little prickles at the corner of my eye.
Gary Kurtz (producer of "Star Wars", and the movie we're making, "Panzer 88") lives in London, as did Ray, and the two of them were friendly with one another. I had needled Gary once or twice to get me an introduction to meet Ray. I guess now I never will.
In some halcyon dimension somewhere, I'm willing to bet that the two Rays, Harryhausen and Bradbury, friends from childhood Los Angeles are back together in some celestial Airstream diner, hunkered down on red vinyl stools and talking dinosaurs and spaceships once more.
Adios, Ray. You were an even bigger Titan than the ones you brought to life.
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