Olson worked on several Treks, including J.J. Abrams' 2009 feature film.
Visual effects specialist Jeff Olson has passed away at the age of 77. Olson spent most of his illustrious career as a team member of Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), which was, of course, founded by Star Wars creator George Lucas. And during his tenure, Olson contributed his unique skills to three Star Trek feature films: Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, and director J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek (2009).
“The ILM community is heartbroken to lose our dear friend and former colleague Jeff Olson,” an ILM Instagram post (below) reads, honoring Olson’s incredible career. “Over nearly 25 years with the company, Jeff worked as a modelmaker, model supervisor, and visual effects producer on many classic projects, from Willow and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? to Star Wars: The Phantom Menace and A Series of Unfortunate Events."
The ILM post continues as follows:
"His career spanned momentous change in the art form and industry, and no matter the techniques employed on a given show, Jeff was always committed to the team, leading his crews with humor and kindness."
Olson served as the ILM model department supervisor on Generations (1994), which is the first TNG feature film, and it’s also the movie Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) was killed off in. When the sequel came out two years later in 1996, Olson was the visual effects producer on First Contact.
When the franchise received its fresh update from director J.J. Abrams’ in 2009’s must-see Star Trek, featuring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and Leonard Nimoy as the original Mr. Spock, Olson also came aboard once again as the film’s visual effects producer.
However, Olson's first big-screen credit was as a model maker working with ILM on the Lea Thompson-led Howard the Duck (1986). Olson also contributed to seveal prominent sequels over the years, including Ghostbusters II, Die Hard 2, and Back to the Future Part III, featuring the aformentioned Thompson.
“Olson is survived by his wife, Kathleen, and their two children,” (per Deadline). I, along with the rest of the Redshirts Always Die and FanSided teams are saddened to hear of Mr. Olson’s passing, and we would like to pass on our condolences to those closest to him, including his family and friends.
For more Star Trek content, and to remember Jeff Olson, please visit the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages.
Rest in peace, Mr. Olson.
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