Ben Burtt
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.
Acting (35 movies)
WALL·E
2008
WALL·E's Treasures & Trinkets
2008
The Making of 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'
1996
Star Wars: The Magic & the Mystery
1997
BURN·E
2008
Under the Helmet: The Legacy of Boba Fett
2021
From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga
1983
Films Are Not Released, They Escape
2002
Animation Sound Design: Building Worlds from the Sound Up
2008
Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema
2005
Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon
2006
George Lucas: Creating an Empire
2005
Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy
2004
The Making of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz
2013
And the Oscar Goes To...
2014
Wings: Grandeur in the Sky
2012
When Star Wars Ruled the World
2004
I Am Your Father
2015
State of the Art: The Pre-Visualization of 'Episode II'
2002
Michael Curtiz: The Greatest Director You Never Heard Of
2012
The Force of Sound
2018
From Puppets to Pixels: Digital Characters in 'Episode II'
2002
The Sound of 'Indiana Jones'
2003
Star Wars: Music by John Williams
1980
Star Wars: Within a Minute - The Making of Episode III
2005
EditDroid: Rise and Fall
2014
Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound
2019
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
1999
Return of the Jedi
1983
Lincoln: An American Journey
2013
R2-D2: Beneath the Dome
2001
Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet
2006
The Making of The Empire Strikes Back
1980
Fog City Mavericks
2007
RKO Production 601: The Making of “Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World”
2008
Directing (8 movies)
Blue Planet
1990
Destiny in Space
1994
Manassas: End of Innocence
2002
The True Story of Glory Continues
1991
Young Indiana Jones and the Attack of the Hawkmen
1995
Special Effects: Anything Can Happen
1996
The American Gangster
1992
Behind the Scenes with King Kong in Special Effects
1996
| Title | Year | Job |
|---|---|---|
| Star Wars: Droids - The Great Heep | 1986 | Writer |
| Young Indiana Jones and the Attack of the Hawkmen | 1995 | Writer |