GARY KURTZ

(27 July 1940 - 23 September 2018)

The American filmmaker Gary Kurtz, who has died aged 78 from cancer, was involved in various aspects of cinema although mainly as a producer and assistant director or second unit director. His film career began in 1965 as assistant director on Monte Hellman’s Ride in the Whirlwind with Jack Nicholson. Working on some fairly lowbrow movies, he was involved with such forgettable productions as Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet, Beach Ball, Queen of Blood, Blood Bath, The Hostage and two more Monte Hellman pictures, The Shooting and Two-Lane Blacktop. And then he met George Lucas… and life changed for the better, with American Graffiti - an immense global success – which he co-produced with Francis Ford Coppola. He stayed with Lucas for the first two Star Wars films. After that he was producer for The Dark Crystal, Return to Oz, Slipstream, The Thief and the Cobbler with animation by Richard Williams, and The Steal with Alfred Molina. Kurtz then became involved with television with The Tale of Jack Frost, Friends and Heroes and Resistance. His last feature film was the teen thriller Gangsta Kittens in 2016. He never won an Oscar but was nominated for Star Wars and American Graffiti. Gary Kurtz was married three times and has three children, Dylan, Melissa and Tiffany. Born in California, he died in London.

MICHAEL DARVELL