A film industry veteran of 39 years,
Don Bies has a long history with Lucasfilm and "Star Wars". He was first hired in 1987 to operate R2-D2 for a series of Japanese commercials for Panasonic starring George Lucas and the Star Wars characters. Shortly after, he became the second Lucasfilm archivist, managing the collection and coordinating live character appearances for nine years. Simultaneously, he worked as a model maker for Industrial Light and Magic, contributing to such films as "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", "Ghostbusters II", "Starship Troopers", "Galaxy Quest" and the "Pirates of the Caribbean" film series and countless commercials, as well as a creature maker on the non-Lucasfilm productions of "The Fly" and "The Fly I"I.
For the "Star Wars Special Editions", he appeared onscreen as a stormtrooper, imperial officer, Bith musician and Boba Fett. On "The Phantom Menace", he served as R2-D2 Operator and then as R2-D2/Droid Supervisor for "Attack of the Clones" and "Revenge of the Sith" as well as a Senior Model Maker at ILM for the prequel trilogy.
Some of his notable Star Wars contributions include the props for the live action cutscenes in the video game "Jedi Knight: Dark Forces 2"; the Darth Vader mask that encases Anakin Skywalker at the end of "Revenge of the Sith" and the battery powered lightsaber used in the TV commercial "Vader Vs. the Energizer Bunny". He also conceived, co-wrote and co-directed the mocumentary series "R2-D2: Beneath the Dome".
Don is also a founding member and president of the Grant Imahara STEAM Foundation established in Grant’s memory. The Foundation’s mission is to inspire emerging talent and empower underserved youth in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math education.
www.grantimaharafoundation.orgIMDB Page:
https://tinyurl.com/37cjwurzInstagram:
https://www.instagram.com/donbies/
