Ben who?

Ben Burtt is famous as an award winning sound designer for various movies. Born July 12, 1948 in Jamesville, New York, he worked his way into the movie career after college. He soon became adept at creating sound effects for movies.

Burtt was picked to work on the sound effects in the Star Wars series. Using sounds in everyday life, he played a key role in creating the iconic noises in the movies such as the lightsaber hum (created by combining the sound of a film projector and broken TV). The sound of blaster fire, R2-D2, and Darth Vader’s menacing breathing are also attributed to him.

What else did he do?

Other movies that he created sound effects for include E.T., WALL-E (he created the voice of the main character), and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. He has also worked as a director for IMAX films and he worked as an editor for the Star Wars prequel trilogy.

How about some trivia?

-He is credited with popularizing the Wilhlem Scream, a sound recording from The Charge at Feather River (1953), by using it in A New Hope. It has been used in countless movies since, such as Raiders of the Lost Ark. Here is a good video showing its many appearances:

 
-He made a cameo appearance as Colonel Dyer (who utters the Wilhlem Scream when he falls over a ledge in the Endor bunker) in Return of the Jedi and Ebenn Q3 Baobab in The Phantom Menace (a backround character in the end of the movie)

Written by :

Vince