Ben Burtt

Personal Info

Known For

Sound

Born

1948-07-12

Place of Birth

Jamesville, New York, USA

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.

Gallery

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Acting History

2022
LIGHT & MAGIC as Self - Sound Designer and Editor
2022
LIGHT & MAGIC as Self - Editor
2021
Under the Helmet: The Legacy of Boba Fett as Self
2019
Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound as Self
2018
The Force of Sound as Self
2015
I Am Your Father as Himself
2014
And the Oscar Goes To... as Self - Interviewee
2014
EditDroid: Rise and Fall as Self
2013
The Making of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz as Self
2013
Lincoln: An American Journey as Self
2012
Wings: Grandeur in the Sky as Self
2012
Michael Curtiz: The Greatest Director You Never Heard Of as Self
2008
WALL·E's Treasures & Trinkets as WALL·E / M-O (voice)
2008
Animation Sound Design: Building Worlds from the Sound Up
2008
BURN·E as WALL·E / M-O (voice) (uncredited)
2008
RKO Production 601: The Making of “Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World” as Self
2008
WALL·E as WALL·E / M-O (voice)
2007
Fog City Mavericks as Self
2007
The Dawn of Sound: How Movies Learned to Talk as Self
2006
Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet as Self
2006
Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon as Self
2005
Star Wars: Within a Minute - The Making of Episode III as Self
2005
Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema as Self
2005
George Lucas: Creating an Empire as Self
2004
Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy as Self - Sound Designer
2004
When Star Wars Ruled the World as Self
2003
The Sound of 'Indiana Jones' as Self
2002
Films Are Not Released, They Escape as Self
2002
From Puppets to Pixels: Digital Characters in 'Episode II' as Self
2002
State of the Art: The Pre-Visualization of 'Episode II' as Self
2001
R2-D2: Beneath the Dome as Self
1999
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace as Naboo Courier (uncredited)
1997
Star Wars: The Magic & the Mystery as Self
1996
The Making of 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial' as Self
1983
From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga as Self
1983
Return of the Jedi as 'Freeze' Officer in Endor Bunker / Tortured Power Droid (voice)
1980
The Making of The Empire Strikes Back as Self
1980
Star Wars: Music by John Williams as Self
A Bucket of Water and a Glass Matte