files/pictures/picture-35.jpgSpecial effect artist Grant McCune has died at the age of 67, according to
The Hollywood Reporter . He had been suffering from pancreatic cancer.
McCune won an Oscar for his model work on the original STAR WARS. He also received an Oscar nomination for his work on STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE.
McCune received a bachelor's degree in biology from Cal State Northridge. In the 1970s, he and Bill Shourt were hired to build the shark for Steven Spielberg's JAWS. While he wasn't given screen credit for his creation, it did kick off his special effects career.
As a partner in Apogee Prods., his credits included DIE HARD, NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN, BIG, SPACE BALLS and CADDYSHACK. Later his Grant McCune Design provided work on such films as SPEED, BATMAN FOREVER, U.S. MARSHALS, RED PLANET, U-571, SPIDER-MAN and SERENITY.
His wife, Katherine; a son, Cole; a daughter, Lily; and a sister, Shelley, survive him. Funeral details are still being planned.
