This Day in Halloween: Oscar-winning special effects pioneer and father of stop-motion animation Willis H. O’Brien is born in Oakland in 1886. / Illustration by Meiling Chen
Willis H. O’Brien is born in Oakland in 1886. The Oscar-winning special effects pioneer and father of stop-motion animation in the U.S. created the original effects for King Kong, Son of Kong and Mighty Joe Young, He also trained stop-motion icon Ray Harryhausen. He died in 1962.
