Harrison Ellenshaw

On the set of The Empire Strikes Back, we see Harrison Ellenshaw (on the left) with fellow Star Wars artists Ralph McQuarrie and Michael Pangrazio. Peter S. "P.S." Ellenshaw, who also goes by the name Harrison Ellenshaw (born July 20, 1945 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA), is a matte painter. He contributed his matte artistry to A New Hope (1977) and served as the matte painting supervisor for The Empire Strikes Back (1980).

As the son of the acclaimed Academy Award-winning matte artist Peter Ellenshaw (known for Spartacus, Treasure Island, and Mary Poppins) and the brother of visual effects artist Lynda Ellenshaw Thompson (Ghost Busters, Flubber), Peter S. Ellenshaw followed in his father's footsteps. He began his career in matte work during the 1970s with Walt Disney Studios on films like The Castaway Cowboy (1974, directed by Vincent McEveety), The Shaggy D.A. (1976, directed by Robert Stevenson), and Pete's Dragon (1977, directed by Don Chaffey). Later, Ellenshaw became part of George Lucas's effects company, Industrial Light & Magic, starting with the matte effects for the original Star Wars film. Despite this, he continued to work on Disney projects as well.

While collaborating with his father on Disney's The Black Hole (1979, directed by Gary Nelson) in 1979, Ellenshaw realized he was gaining recognition for his own contributions. To differentiate himself from his famous father, he adopted the stage name "Harrison Ellenshaw," named after his hometown of Harrisburg. Consequently, Harrison Ellenshaw received the nomination for the 1980 Visual Effects Academy Award, although the Ellenshaws were ultimately defeated by H.R. Giger's work on Alien (1979, directed by Ridley Scott).

The article P.S. Ellenshaw and the Magic of Matte, penned by Dr. M.F. Marten and featured in Star Wars Official Poster Monthly #13 in October 1978, was the first instance of Ellenshaw's contributions to the initial film being acknowledged.

Throughout the 1980s, Harrison Ellenshaw maintained a successful career, contributing to films such as The Empire Strikes Back (1980, directed by Irvin Kershner), TRON (1982, directed by Steven Lisberger, which earned a BAFTA award), and Superman IV (1987, directed by Sidney J. Furie, which received a Razzie nomination).

In the 1990s, Ellenshaw went back to working with Disney on Dick Tracy (1990, directed by Warren Beatty). He also contributed to Ghost (1990, directed by Jerry Zucker), Dave (1993, directed by Ivan Reitman), and the popular TV show Xena. Eventually, Ellenshaw rose to the position of head of Disney's effects studio, Buena Vista Visual Effects, and served as its executive producer for Escape from L.A. (1996, directed by John Carpenter).

Ellenshaw's work was once again highlighted in a Star Wars publication, specifically Bantam Spectra's The Illustrated Star Wars Universe (1995). This publication featured text by Kevin J. Anderson and illustrations by various artists from the original trilogy, including Ralph McQuarrie and Nilo Rodis-Jamero.

Harrison's son, Michael, has worked in the film industry as a director, writer, editor, and actor in the straight-to-video short film Answer (2002).