Harrison Ellenshaw

Harrison Ellenshaw (born Peter Ellenshaw, July 20, 1945 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) is an American matte painter, following his British-born father Peter Ellenshaw. He started his career at Walt Disney Studios. He later joined George Lucas's effects studio Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), where he produced many of the matte visual effects backgrounds for the films Star Wars (1977) and The Empire Strikes Back (1980). He then returned to Disney to work on the film Dick Tracy (1990), and eventually headed Disney Studio's effects department, Buena Vista Visual Effects (BVVE). He was also visual effects supervisor for Tron (1982), where he had the distinction of being the first person to have that credit in a film.

He and his father were nominated for an Academy Award for their work on Disney's film The Black Hole (1979).

Harrison Ellenshaw is now pursuing his passion for fine art painting.

His son Michael Ellenshaw has directed a short film while his sister Lynda Thompson is also a visual effects artist.

Selected filmography

• The Man Who Fell To Earth (1976), special photographic effects - credited as P.S. Ellenshaw
• Star Wars (1977), matte artist
• The Black Hole (1979), miniature effects creator (Academy Award nominee for visual effects)
• The Empire Strikes Back (1980), matte artist
• Tron (1982), visual effects supervisor
• Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), visual effects supervisor and second unit director
• Dick Tracy (1990), matte artist

External links

• Ellenshaw.com, official biography website
• Harrison Ellenshaw at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview with Harrison Ellenshaw on the Matte Shot - A Tribute to Golden Era Special FX blog