Ivan Dryer

Who is Ivan Dryer?

Ivan Dryer is generally considered to be the father of the commercial laser light show industry. He is the founder of the world's first continuously running laser entertainment known as Laserium.

Dryer was a filmmaker in the early 1970s. On one project, he worked with Dr. Elsa Garmire, a California Institute of Technology physicist interested in laser light art. Dryer was disappointed because the resulting film, Laser Image, did not have the pure colors and shimmer of laser light. Dryer realized that it was possible only to capture the special beauty of laser light by using the light itself, not in film or video form.

Dryer had the idea of bringing the Caltech laser to Los Angeles' Griffith Observatory. He, Garmire and Dale Pelton formed Laser Images, Inc. to create planetarium laser shows.

The first Laserium show opened to the public on November 19, 1973. It is thought to be the first on-going laser show that was not part of a special or one-time event. The Laserium shows inspired other companies and individuals to create laser shows and displays. Laser imagery spread from planetariums to become more common at other venues such as concerts and corporate shows.