Colin Cantwell, Concept Artist Who Designed Iconic 'Star Wars' Spacecraft, Dies at 90

[Javaman]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/colin-cantwell-dead-star-wars-spacecraft-concept-artist-1235152043/

His love of architecture and fascination with space provided the perfect combination for Cantwell to make serious moves in Hollywood, working on several projects, his initial credited work being '2001: A Space Odyssey.'

Colin Cantwell, the concept artist who designed iconic Star Wars spacecraft, including the X-wing Starfighter, TIE fighter and Death Star, died Saturday at his Colorado home, Sierra Dall, his long-time partner, confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. He was 90.

Cantwell’s film credits include special photographic effects for 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), technical dialogue for Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and computer graphics design consultant for WarGames (1983). Yet, he was most renowned for his work with George Lucas on Star Wars, designing and constructing the prototypes for the X-wing, TIE fighter, Star Destroyer and the Death Star, among more.

Born in San Francisco in 1932, Cantwell was diagnosed with tuberculosis as well as a partial retinal detachment in his youth. The cure, he said during a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” interview in 2016, was to be confined to a dark room with a heavy vest across his chest to prevent coughing fits. “I spent nearly two years of my childhood immobilized in this dark room. Suffice to say, nothing else could slow me down after that!” he said.

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