Ben Burtt
Benjamin Burtt Jr. (born July 12, 1948) is an American sound designer, film director and editor, screenwriter, and voice actor. As a sound designer, his credits include the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film series, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), WALL-E (2008), and Star Trek (2009).
Ben Burtt | |
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Burtt at Star Wars Celebration Europe II in Essen, Germany | |
| Born | Benjamin Burtt Jr. July 12, 1948 Jamesville, New York, U.S. |
| Education | Allegheny College |
| Alma mater | University of Southern California |
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| Years active | 1975–present |
| Children | Benjamin A. Burtt |
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Burtt is notable for popularizing the Wilhelm scream in-joke and creating many of the iconic sound effects heard in the Star Wars film franchise, including the 'voice' of R2-D2, the lightsaber hum, the sound of the blaster guns, the heavy-breathing sound of Darth Vader and creating the Ewoks’ language, Ewokese. Burtt was also the sound editor for WALL-E and performed the vocalizations of the titular character as well as other robots in the film.
Burtt has won four Academy Awards, two of which are Special Achievement Academy Awards. He has also directed numerous documentary films for IMAX and most notably the television series Young Indiana Jones on the episode "Attack of the Hawkmen." He also served as the editor on multiple episodes of the show and the Star Wars prequel trilogy.