According to Variety, Marc Thorpe, the visual effects artist who worked on the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films has passed away.

Thorpe’s death was announced by his daughter on social media. Thorpe had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease 30 years ago.

Thrope was already a model-maker and puppet engineer when he joined Industrial Light and Magic in 1979. He went on to help create special effects for the last two Star Wars original trilogy movies, as well as three of the Indiana Jones movies.

Other movies he worked on include Poltergeist, Dragonslayer, Howard the Duck, and The Hunt for Red October. Thorpe also developed the concept for what eventually became Robot Wars. In 1994, he left ILM and launched the first Robot Wars competition.

A tribute was posted on his website which read: “Marc had quite a remarkable life. At various points, he raised pet alligators, trained dolphins, built major portions of the Star Wars and Indiana Jones universes (and many others), created amazing art pieces, designed toys, worked on custom industrial design projects, engaged in unique performance art and perhaps most significantly invented the entire sport of robotic combat.”

Thorpe will be greatly missed by many. Our thoughts are with his family.

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