Overview
- Industrial Light & Magic confirmed on its social channels that Jeff Olson died on Sunday, June 21; he was 77.
- ILM’s public tribute described Olson as a kind, committed leader who spent nearly 25 years at the studio working as a modelmaker, model supervisor and visual‑effects producer.
- Olson’s credits include model work on Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Willow and VFX producing on films such as Star Trek: First Contact and Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, in which he also made a brief uncredited on‑screen appearance.
- He left ILM in 2009 to join Polygon Entertainment and continued as a visual‑effects producer and manager on projects through about 2011, including Priest and Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
- Olson is survived by his wife, Kathleen Limburg, two children and grandchildren, and his death has prompted industry and fan tributes and renewed attention to the craft of modelmaking that helped bridge practical and digital effects; no cause of death has been disclosed.