Ken Ralston

Who is Ken Ralston?

Kenneth Ralston is a visual effects artist, currently the Visual Effect Supervisor and Creative Head at Sony Pictures Imageworks. Ralston begun his career at the seminal commercial animation and visual effects company, Cascade Pictures in Hollywood, where he worked on over 150 advertising campaigns in the early 1970s. In 1976 he was hired at Industrial Light & Magic by Dennis Muren to help George Lucas create the effects for Star Wars. He remained in ILM for 20 years before joining Sony Pictures Imageworks as president. Ralston is best known for his work in the films of Robert Zemeckis.

Ralston has won five Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, including a Special Achievement Oscar for the visual effects in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, and regular awards for his work on Forrest Gump, Death Becomes Her, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Cocoon. He was nominated seven more times, for The Rocketeer, Jumanji, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Dragonslayer, Back to the Future Part II and Alice in Wonderland.