American film producer Gary Kurtz, best known for is work on the original Star Wars and its 1980 sequel The Empire Strikes Back, has passed away aged 78 after losing his battle with cancer. His family has released the following statement:
With deep love and respect, the family of Gary Kurtz is sad to share that he has passed away. He died from cancer on September 23rd 2018, in North London, England.
Gary was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, friend, colleague, and mentor, whose work and talent spanned filmmaking, photography, music, and cinema history. He was a Marine, a world traveller, an outdoorsman, and a kind, compassionate human being.
His life’s work was to share the wonder of audio-visual storytelling through the art of film. Well-known for his work as the producer of American Graffiti, Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and The Dark Crystal, Gary was passionate about telling stories that shared the humanity of characters in entertaining ways for audiences around the world.
Gary was a magnificent man, who will be hugely missed. His whole family thanks you for your loving thoughts.
Kurtz began his film career working in various roles during the 1960s prior to his service in the United States Marine Corps. Following his time in the military, he would begin his collaborations with George Lucas on 1973’s American Graffiti and went on to produce Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back before parting ways with Lucasfilm.
His subsequent credits included The Dark Crystal, Return to Oz and Slipstream, the latter reuniting him with Star Wars’ Mark Hamill. He also recently produced the Star Wars-inspired coming of age film 5-25-77, which was released last year.
