George Lucas

George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He is best known for inventing the *Star Wars* universe and the *Indiana Jones* series, and he founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic, and THX. He was Lucasfilm’s chairman until he sold the company to Disney in 2012. Though he has won two Emmys and been nominated for four Oscars and two Golden Globes, he is widely regarded as a key figure in the New Hollywood movement of the 20th century and a trailblazer for the modern blockbuster—yet he spent most of his career working outside the major studio system.

After earning his degree from the University of Southern California in 1967, Lucas relocated to San Francisco and, with Francis Ford Coppola, co-founded American Zoetrope. His first feature as writer-director, *THX 1138* (1971)—based on his student short *Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB*—earned critical praise but flopped financially. His next film, *American Graffiti* (1973), drew on his own teenage years in Modesto, California, and was produced through his newly formed Lucasfilm. It was both a critical and commercial success, landing five Academy Award nominations including Best Director and Best Picture. Lucas’s next project, the space opera *Star Wars* (1977, later retitled *A New Hope*), faced a difficult production but became an unexpected smash, breaking box-office records, winning six Oscars, and igniting a global cultural phenomenon. He produced and co-wrote its sequels *The Empire Strikes Back* (1980) and *Return of the Jedi* (1983). With Steven Spielberg, he created, produced, and co-wrote the *Indiana Jones* films *Raiders of the Lost Ark* (1981), *The Temple of Doom* (1984), *The Last Crusade* (1989), and *The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull* (2008), and served as an executive producer—with only cursory pre- and post-production involvement—on *The Dial of Destiny* (2023).

In 1997, Lucas re-released the original *Star Wars* trilogy as a Special Edition with several alterations; further changes appeared on home video in 2004 and 2011. He returned to directing with a prequel trilogy: *The Phantom Menace* (1999), *Attack of the Clones* (2002), and *Revenge of the Sith* (2005). His final collaborations included the CGI-animated film and TV series *Star Wars: The Clone Wars* (2008–2014, 2020), the war film *Red Tails* (2012), and the jukebox musical fantasy *Strange Magic* (2015). Lucas is also noted for his long partnership with composer John Williams, whom Spielberg recommended; Williams scored every *Star Wars* and *Indiana Jones* film. Through Lucasfilm, Lucas produced and wrote numerous other films and TV series from the 1970s through the 2010s.

Financially, Lucas ranks among history’s most successful filmmakers. He directed or wrote the story for ten of the 100 highest-grossing movies in North America when adjusted for ticket-price inflation. Through Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound, he was involved in—and profited from—nearly every major U.S. blockbuster from the late 1980s until his 2012 sale to Disney. Beyond filmmaking, Lucas has founded and backed several philanthropic efforts focused on education and the arts, including the George Lucas Educational Foundation (a key supporter of the federal E-Rate program that funds broadband for schools and libraries) and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, a forthcoming Los Angeles museum he is developing with his wife, Mellody Hobson.

Lucas was born on May 14, 1944, in Modesto, California, a small agricultural city in the Central Valley. His parents were Dorothy Ellinore Lucas (née Bomberger) and George Walton Lucas Sr., and his ancestry includes German, Swiss German, English, Scottish, and distant Dutch and French roots. He grew up in Modesto and visited Disneyland during its opening week in July 1955, remaining a lifelong fan of the park. He loved comics and science fiction, especially the *Flash Gordon* serials. Long before filmmaking, he dreamed of being a racecar driver, spending much of high school racing on the underground circuit at fairgrounds and hanging out in garages. On June 12, 1962, days before his high school graduation, he was driving his souped-up Autobianchi Bianchina when another driver hit him broadside, flipping the car several times into a tree. His seatbelt snapped, throwing him clear and saving his life, but his lungs were bruised from severe bleeding, requiring emergency care. The accident ended his racing ambitions and pushed him toward other passions.

Lucas’s father owned a stationery store and expected George to work there at 18. George wanted to go to art school, but his father refused to pay. Upon leaving home, Lucas declared he would be a millionaire by 30. He attended Modesto Junior College, studying anthropology, sociology, literature, and other subjects, and began shooting with an 8 mm camera, including filming car races. He also discovered Canyon Cinema, which screened underground avant-garde 16 mm films by artists like Jordan Belson, Stan Brakhage, and Bruce Conner. With childhood friend John Plummer, he watched classic European films such as Jean-Luc Godard’s *Breathless*, François Truffaut’s *Jules et Jim*, and Federico Fellini’s *8½*. “That’s when George really started exploring,” Plummer recalled.