Jeff Olson, a longtime visual effects professional at Industrial Light & Magic, died June 21 at age 77. His career included work on several major films, most notably 'Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace.'
Olson served as a modelmaker, model supervisor and visual effects producer during nearly 25 years at ILM, from 1985 to 2009. Among his credits were 'Willow,' 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit,' 'Star Trek: First Contact,' the 2009 'Star Trek' film and 'A Series of Unfortunate Events.'
He also contributed to 'Herbie: Fully Loaded,' 'Rush Hour 3' and 'Priest,' his final project as a visual effects producer in 2011. Earlier roles included model work on 'Die Hard 2' and 'Back to the Future Part III,' plus stage producing on 'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.'
ILM confirmed the death and noted Olson’s commitment to his teams. He briefly appeared uncredited in 'The Phantom Menace' as a podrace spectator. Olson is survived by his wife, Kathleen Limburg, two children and grandchildren. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1970.
