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Ben Burtt

Ben Burtt

Born July 12, 1948 · Jamesville, New York, USA

IMDb

Biography

Benjamin "Ben" Burtt, Jr. is a sound designer, film editor, director, screenwriter, and voice actor. He has worked as sound designer on various films, including the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film series, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, WALL-E, and Star Trek. He is responsible for creating many of the iconic sound effects heard in the Star Wars film franchise, including the binary speech of R2-D2, the lightsaber hum, the sound of the blaster guns, and the heavy-breathing sound of Darth Vader, which he made by breathing into a scuba regulator. Burtt has a reputation for popularizing a sound effect dubbed the "Wilhelm scream", which was taken from a character named Wilhelm in the 1953 film The Charge at Feather River.

Sound 39

1990s

  1. 1999

    The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Tales of Innocence

    Sound Designer

  2. The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Masks of Evil

    Sound Designer

  3. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

    Supervising Sound Editor, Sound Designer

    60
  4. 1996

    The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Travels with Father

    Sound Designer

1970s

  1. 1979

    More American Graffiti

    Supervising Sound Editor

  2. Alien

    Sound Designer

    87
  3. 1978

    Invasion of the Body Snatchers

    Sound Effects Designer

    78

  4. The Star Wars Holiday Special

    Sound Effects

    25
  5. 1977

    Star Wars

    Sound Designer

    88
  6. 1975

    Death Race 2000

    Sound Designer

    65

  7. Recorded Live

    Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Directed 13

2000s

  1. 2002

    Manassas: End of Innocence

    Director

1990s

  1. 1999

    The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Mystery of the Blues

    Second Unit Director

  2. The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Spring Break Adventure

    Second Unit Director

  3. The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Phantom Train of Doom

    Second Unit Director

  4. The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Oganga, the Giver and Taker of Life

    Second Unit Director

  5. The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Trenches of Hell

    Second Unit Director

  6. 1996

    Behind the Scenes with King Kong in Special Effects

    Director

  7. Special Effects: Anything Can Happen

    Director

  8. 1995

    The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Attack of the Hawkmen

    Director

  9. 1994

    Destiny in Space

    Director

  10. 1992

    The American Gangster

    Director

  11. 1991

    The True Story of Glory Continues

    Director

  12. 1990

    Blue Planet

    Director

Edited 9

2010s

  1. 2012

    Red Tails

    Editor

    54

1990s

  1. 1999

    The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Demons of Deception

    Editor

  2. The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Daredevils of the Desert

    Editor

  3. The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Oganga, the Giver and Taker of Life

    Editor

  4. The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Trenches of Hell

    Editor

  5. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

    Editor

    60
  6. 1995

    The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Attack of the Hawkmen

    Editor

Acted in 7

2000s

  1. 2008

    WALL·E's Treasures & Trinkets

    WALL·E / M-O (voice)

  2. Animation Sound Design: Building Worlds from the Sound Up

    Movie

  3. BURN·E

    WALL·E / M-O (voice) (uncredited)

    76

  4. WALL·E

    WALL·E / M-O (voice)

    88
  5. 2002

    Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

    Wat Tambor (uncredited)

    63

Wrote 5

2000s

  1. 2004

    Star Wars: Droids - Treasure of the Hidden Planet

    Story

1990s

  1. 1995

    The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Attack of the Hawkmen

    Writer

1980s

  1. 1986

    Star Wars: Droids - The Great Heep

    Writer

  2. 1985

    Star Wars: Droids

    Story

    57
  3. 1983

    Return of the Jedi

    Lyricist

    77

Other crew 2

1980s

  1. 1980

    Porklips Now

    Military Consultant

Produced 1

1980s

  1. 1986

    Star Wars: Droids - The Great Heep

    Associate Producer

Camera 1

Created 1

Appearances33

2010s

  1. 2019

    Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound

    Self

    80
  2. 2018

    The Force of Sound

    Self

  3. 2015

    I Am Your Father

    Himself

  4. 2014

    And the Oscar Goes To...

    Self - Interviewee

  5. EditDroid: Rise and Fall

    Self

  6. 2013

    The Making of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz

    Self

  7. Lincoln: An American Journey

    Self

  8. 2012

    Wings: Grandeur in the Sky

    Self

  9. Michael Curtiz: The Greatest Director You Never Heard Of

    Self

2000s

  1. 2008

    RKO Production 601: The Making of “Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World”

    Self

  2. 2007

    Fog City Mavericks

    Self

  3. Standing on the Shoulders of Kubrick: The Legacy of 2001

    Self

  4. 2006

    Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon

    Self

  5. Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet

    Self

  6. 2005

    Within a Minute: The Making of Star Wars Episode III

    Self

  7. Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema

    Self

  8. 2004

    Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy

    Self - Sound Designer

    81

  9. When Star Wars Ruled the World

    Self

  10. 2003

    The Sound of 'Indiana Jones'

    Self

  11. 2002

    Films Are Not Released, They Escape

    Self

  12. State of the Art: The Pre-Visualization of 'Episode II'

    Self

  13. From Puppets to Pixels: The Making of Star Wars Episode II

    Self

  14. George Lucas: Creating an Empire

    Self

  15. 2001

    R2-D2: Beneath the Dome

    Self

1990s

  1. 1997

    Star Wars: The Magic & the Mystery

    Self

  2. 1996

    The Making of 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'

    Self

1980s

  1. 1983

    From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga

    Self

  2. 1980

    The Making of The Empire Strikes Back

    Self

  3. SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back

    Self

  4. Star Wars: Music by John Williams

    Self