Oscar Winning “Star Wars” And “Raiders of the Lost Ark” Art Director Norman Reynolds Dies at 89

Lucasfilm has confirmed that the Oscar-winning Norman Reynolds, who was responsible for the art direction in both Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and Raiders of the Lost Ark, has passed away at the age of 89.

What’s Happening:

  • Lucasfilm has announced that Norman Reynolds, The Academy Award winner who provided art direction on Star Wars: A New Hope and Raiders of the Lost Ark, has died at the age of 89.
  • A native of London, England, Reynolds was an art director on Star Wars: A New Hope (1977). He worked closely with John Barry, the film’s overall production designer, to help establish the core design philosophy behind Star Wars architecture and construction. They joined art director Leslie Dilley and set decorator Roger Christian as winners of the Academy Award for Art Direction in 1978. For Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Reynolds was elevated into the production designer role as Barry pursued directing (sadly, he would pass away while working as a consultant on Empire).
  • Reynolds was a congenial department head, and collaborated well with his fellow artists and designers at Industrial Light & Magic and Lucasfilm. Part of his brilliance was to translate the conceptual designs of artists like Ralph McQuarrie and Joe Johnston into fully-constructed sets on a soundstage or a remote location. Reynolds made the fantastic designs of a galaxy far, far away practical and accessible. The legacy of this work spreads from movies and series to video games, immersive entertainment, and theme park experiences. In every detail of Star Wars spatial design is the foundational work accomplished by Reynolds and his colleagues.
  • When Steven Spielberg partnered with Lucasfilm to make Raiders of the Lost Ark, Reynolds became production designer, helping establish the Indiana Jones style from the ground-up. This even included sculpting the iconic golden idol that Indy attempts to procure during the film’s memorable opening. Reynolds used an Incan fertility sculpture that he’d collected during his travels overseas.
  • Of course, Raiders wouldn’t be complete without Indy’s close call with a giant boulder as it rolls down a temple passage. “I didn’t know it was gonna look as good as it did until the day Norman Reynolds showed me that he had actually made a boulder that was something like 22 feet in circumference,” Steven Spielberg would explain. As Reynolds explained, it was Spielberg himself who kept asking for it to be bigger! Raiders would earn Reynolds his second Academy Award for Art Direction in 1982 alongside art director Leslie Dilley and set decorator Michael Ford.

What They’re Saying:

  • Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy: “Frank and I were shattered at the news of Norman’s passing this weekend,” says “Norman was an exceptional person to work with. His contributions to the first entries of the Star Wars saga and Indiana Jones series helped set the standard for the look of these beloved stories that has inspired generations of film designers. Our thoughts are with his family.”
  • Director Steven Spielberg: “Norman was always smiling with enthusiasm, and there was nothing he couldn’t make work! Joyful and friendly and a massive talent.”

Tony Betti
Originally from California where he studied a dying artform (hand-drawn animation), Tony has spent most of his adult life in the theme parks of Orlando. When he’s not writing for LP, he’s usually watching and studying something animated or arguing about “the good ole’ days” at the parks.