Biography:
Jim Danforth was born in 1940 in an outskirt of Cleveland, Ohio.Danforth first saw the legendary King Kong when he was I 2 years old during its second theatrical reissue.Danforth also mentions Alexander Korda`s production of The Thief of Bagdad and the action-adventures Lives of a Bengal Lancer and Beau Geste as films that affected him greatly.At the age of I5 Jim collaborated with two friends to produce Snag of Time. In it travellers journey backwards in time to study the lncas. But they encounter a snag in time and find themselves in the Mesozoic age and a land full of dinosaurs. ‘The models were terrible” says Danforth. “But we did some slightly more elaborate composites. During his teen years he exprimented with stopmotion animation, matte painting, miniatures and other effects, untill star working at Art Clokey Productions.
For more information read the article from the Cinemagic magazine:
http://galeon.com/traditionalfx/Danforth/article1.html
Jim Danforth and his wife Karen Tutle, with a matte
painting made for TV miniseries “The blue and the gray”
Danforth working on a painting for Planet of Dinosaurs.
Filmography:
- Prophecy, The (1995) (matte artist) (matte photographer)
- Dragonworld (1994) (animator)
- Dinosaur Island (1994) (special effects)
- Dark Universe (1993) (matte painter)
- Body Bags (1993) (TV) (animator) (uncredited) (logo designer: 187 Corporation)
- Robot Wars (1993) (additional stop-motion)
- Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman (1993) (TV) (title artist)
- Body Snatchers (1993) (matte artist)
- Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992) (matte artist) (uncredited) (matte photographer)
- Bugsy (1991) (matte artist) (uncredited)
- Flatliners (1990) (matte artist)
- Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) (optical effects)
- DeepStar Six (1989) (matte artist) (miniature effects)
- Wizard of Speed and Time, The (1988) (optical effects)
- They Live (1988) (special photographic effects)
- Dominick and Eugene (1988) (matte artist)
- Prince of Darkness (1987) (matte artist) (uncredited) (matte painter)
- Runaway Train (1985) (matte artist) (uncredited) (matte photographer) (uncredited)
- Stuff, The (1985) (matte artist) (miniature photography) (optical effects)
- Commando (1985) (matte artist) (uncredited) (matte photographer) (uncredited)
- Day of the Dead (1985) (matte artist) (matte photographer)
- Ninja III: The Domination (1984) (matte artist) (matte supervisor)
- .It Came Upon the Midnight Clear (1984) (TV) (matte artist)
- .Ewok Adventure, The (1984) (TV) (matte artist) (matte photographer)
- Unendliche Geschichte, Die (NeverEnding Story, The) (1984) (matte artist) (matte photographer)
- .Sahara (1983) (matte photographer) (matte supervisor)
- Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) (effects photography) (matte artist)
- Murder Me, Murder You (1983) (TV) (matte supervisor)
- “Blue and the Gray, The” (1982) (mini) TV Series (matte artist)
- The Thing (1982) (matte artist) (uncredited)
- Shadow Riders, The (1982) (TV) (matte artist)
- “Bring ‘Em Back Alive” (1982) TV Series (matte artist) (matte supervisor)
- Megaforce (1982) (matte artist) (matte photographer)
- Conan the Barbarian (1982) (matte artist)
- Clash of the Titans (1981) (animator)
- Day Time Ended, The (1980) (matte artist) (matte photographer)
- Scarlett O’Hara War, The (1980) (TV) (matte artist) (uncredited)
- Creepshow (80)(Matte apaint)
- Caveman (80)(Visual effects superv)
- “Supertrain” (1979) TV Series (matte artist) (pilot episode)
- Topper (1979) (TV) (on-set ghost effects consultant)
- Winter Kills (1979) (effects consultant)
- “Salvage 1″ (1979) TV Series (iceberg photo effects: episode “Hard Water”)
- Planet of the Dinosaurs (1978) (matte artist)
- Vortex (78)(matte art)
- Crater Lake Monster, The (1977) (assistant model animator)
- True Story of Eskimo Nell, The (1975) (matte artist)
- Reincarnation of Peter Proud, The (1975) (matte artist)
- Dark Star(74)(matte art)
- Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1973) (matte supervisor)
- Flesh Gordon (1972) (matte artist) (uncredited) (special visual effects) (as Mij Htrofnad)
- Portnoy’s Complaint (1972) (matte artist) (uncredited) (matte supervisor) (uncredited)
- Equinox (1971) (matte artist) (uncredited)
- When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970) (effects cameraman) (matte artist) (uncredited)
- .Earth II (1971) (TV) (special effects coordinator)
- Diamonds Are Forever (1971) (animator) (uncredited)
- Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) (animator)
- When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970) (animator) (uncredited) (process projectionist)
- .Little Fauss and Big Halsy (1970) (effects crew)
- Mighty Gorga, The (1969) (cave dragon effects)
- “Here’s Lucy” (1968) TV Series (animator: “Lucy” puppet, main title sequence)
- Around the World Under the Sea (1966) (miniature crew) (uncredited)
- “Star Trek” (1966) TV Series (property maker) (episode “Cage, The”)
- “Outer Limits, The” (1963) TV Series (effects crew: 1963-1965)
- War Lord, The (1965) (art department model maker) (uncredited)
- Woman of the prehistoric planet(1965)
- That Funny Feeling (1965) (matte artist)
- Strange Bedfellows (1964) (art department model maker) (uncredited)
- .Father Goose (1964) (miniature maker) (uncredited)
- Seven Faces of Dr. Lao (1964) (special visual effects)
- I’d Rather Be Rich (1964) (animator)
- It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963) (miniature maker)
- Journey to the Seventh Planet (1962) (cyclops special effect)
- “Davey and Goliath” (1962) TV Series (animator)
- Jack the Giant Killer (1962) (animator)
- Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, The (1962) (animator)
- Master of the World (1961) (miniature maker)
- Flight of the Lost Balloon (1961) (puppeteer)
- Atlantis, the Lost Continent (1961) (animator) (uncredited)
- Vendetta di Ercole, La (1960) (stop-motion animator) (Goliath and the Dragon)
- Time machine(60)(assist animator)
- “Dinah Shore Chevy Show, The” (1956) TV Series (animator)
- “Hallmark Hall of Fame” (1951) TV Series (animation producer: main title sequence)
The full gallery is not available yet but you can visit the old site: