Visual effects pioneer behind Blade Runner Douglas Trumbull has died

Visual Effects pioneer Douglas Trumbull, the mastermind behind the visuals on 1982 sci-fi classic Blade Runner, has died aged 79.

His death was announced by his daughter Amy Trumbull. She wrote that the “absolute genius and a wizard” passed away on Monday after “a major two-year battle with cancer, a brain tumor and a stroke”.

Amy added: “My sister Andromeda and I got to see him on Saturday and tell him that [we] love him, and we got to tell him to enjoy and embrace his journey into the Great Beyond.”

Trumbull’s work saw him share Oscar nominations for best visual effects for Close Encounters, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and Blade Runner.

He also worked on films such as Silent Running, The Andromeda Strain, and Star Trek: The Motion Picture along with directing the eco-sci-fi film Silent Running and Natalie Wood-starring Brainstorm.

Even though Silent Running didn’t bring the success he had hoped for, Trumbull agreed to work on a different aspect of the sci-fi industry which saw him help create Blade Runner.

Trumbull also created Universal Studios’ Back to the Future: The Ride and helped bring Imax to the entertainment marketplace.

In 1993, Trumbull shared the Academy Scientific and Engineering Award and in 2012 he won the Academy’s Gordon E. Sawyer Award, which is a special Oscar presented to “an individual in the motion picture industry whose technological contributions have brought credit to the industry”.

Becky Buckle is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow her on Twitter