David W. Allen (October 22, 1944 – August 16, 1999) was an American film and television

stop motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

model (puppet) animator. Allen provided special effects on such productions as ''

The Howling ''The Howling'' is a 1977 horror novel by Gary Brandner. It was the inspiration for the movie ''The Howling'' (1981), although the plot of the movie was only vaguely similar to that of the book. Brandner published two sequels to the novel, '' T ...

'', '' Twilight Zone: The Movie'', ''

Young Sherlock Holmes ''Young Sherlock Holmes'' (also known with the title card name of "''Young Sherlock Holmes and the Pyramid of Fear''") is a 1985 American mystery adventure film directed by Barry Levinson and written by Chris Columbus, based on the characters ...

'' (for which he earned an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects nomination), ''

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

'' and ''

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids ''Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'' is a 1989 American comic science fiction film. It is the first installment of a film franchise and served as the directorial debut of Joe Johnston. The film stars Rick Moranis, Matt Frewer, Marcia Strassman, and Kri ...

''. He also had a long association with producer

Charles Band Charles Robert Band (born December 27, 1951) is an American film producer and director, known for his work on horror comedy movies. Career Band entered film production in the 1970s with Charles Band Productions. Dissatisfied with distributo ...

, working on such films as ''

Dolls A doll is a model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and wood are found ...

'', '' Puppet Master'', '' Bride of Re-Animator'', '' Subspecies'' and ''

Demonic Toys ''Demonic Toys'' is a 1992 American direct-to-video horror comedy film produced by Charles Band's Full Moon Entertainment and directed by Peter Manoogian. The film centers on a police officer who is terrorized by the title characters after a botch ...

''.

Career

Some of Allen's earliest animation work can be seen in the 1970 16mm student film ''

Equinox A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun crosses the Earth's equator, which is to say, appears directly above the equator, rather than north or south of the equator. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise "due east" and se ...

'', which was expanded from a short film to a feature-length film by Jack H. Harris and re-titled ''The Beast'' for VHS video release in the 1980s. Although he had been working for years in animation, mostly doing commercials like the

Pillsbury Doughboy Poppin' Fresh, more widely known as the Pillsbury Doughboy, is an advertising mascot for the Pillsbury Company, appearing in many of their commercials. Many commercials from 1965 until 2005 (together with some for GEICO between 2009 and 2017) en ...

, Allen made a splash on movie viewers when he animated the "Nesuahyrrah" monster who appears at the climax of the semi-porn low-brow parody comedy ''

Flesh Gordon ''Flesh Gordon'' is a 1974 American sex comedy feature film serving as a spoof of Universal Pictures first (of three) ''Flash Gordon'' serial films from the 1930s. The film was produced by Walter R. Cichy, Bill Osco, and Howard Ziehm. It was co ...

'' produced by Howard Ziehm in 1974. The film also featured an animation sequence from long-time Allen friend

Jim Danforth James Danforth (born July 13, 1940) is an American stop-motion animator, known for model-animation, matte painting, and for his work on ''When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth'' (1970), a theme-sequel to Ray Harryhausen's ''One Million Years B.C.'' (1 ...

. Allen's contributed model animation to a

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a global brand post-W ...

commercial made in 1972 in which

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

spots a giant version of the car from his Empire State Building perch in New York. Climbing down from the building, Kong puts his human "date" into the passenger seat, gets in the car, and drives down Fifth Avenue out of sight. The spot aired only once on network TV and, in spite of favorable public response, was pulled because VW executives decided that they did not like the image of an ape driving their car. Allen joined with

, a long-time friend, to provide model animation for the low-budget horror film ''

The Crater Lake Monster ''The Crater Lake Monster'' is a 1977 B-movie horror film directed by William R. Stromberg for Crown International Pictures, and starring Richard Cardella. The storyline revolves around a giant plesiosaur, akin to the Loch Ness Monster, which ...

'' (1977). He also animated the aliens in the low-budget science fiction film ''

Laserblast ''Laserblast'' is a 1978 American science fiction film about an unhappy teenage loner who discovers an alien laser cannon and goes on a murderous rampage, seeking revenge against those who he feels have wronged him. The extremely low-budget film ...

'' (1978). With Danforth,

Ray Harryhausen Raymond Frederick Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British animator and special effects creator who created a form of stop motion model animation known as "Dynamation". His works include the animation for '' Mi ...

, various other model animators, visual effects artists, film producers and directors, Allen helped organize an event in March 1983 at Mann's Chinese Theater commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the release of ''King Kong'', loaning his VW Kong model for display at the Roosevelt Hotel across the street from the theater. Allen was also hired to animate the little flying saucers for the hit feature-length theatrical film '' Batteries Not Included'' (1987), a story that was originally intended to be an episode of Spielberg's ''

Amazing Stories ''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearances ...

'' TV series. Allen and his crew animated the hallucinations and creatures in Barry Levinson's 1985 film ''

'', earning an Academy Award Nomination in 1985.''Young Sherlock Holmes''
Credits and Crew at IMDb. His production company, David Allen Productions, did visual effects and model animation for the bizarre monster movie ''

Freaked ''Freaked'' is a 1993 American comedy film directed by Tom Stern and Alex Winter, both of whom wrote the screenplay with Tim Burns. Winter also starred in the lead role. Both were involved in the short-lived MTV sketch comedy show '' The Idiot ...

'' in 1992. Up until his death from cancer in 1999, Allen had been intermittently working on the stop motion effects for the film '' The Primevals'', his own production. This project dates from early in his career, in the late 1960s, when he pitched an epic fantasy to Hammer Film executives. He developed the idea over the years, and in 1978 he began production with producer

. The film was the subject of a cover story in ''

Cinefantastique ''Cinefantastique'' is an American horror, fantasy, and science fiction film magazine. History The magazine originally started as a mimeographed fanzine in 1967, then relaunched as a glossy, offset printed quarterly in 1970 by publisher/editor ...

'' Magazine that year, but despite the interest, the production was shut down, then briefly revived twice more, then shut down again. An Allen protégé, Chris Endicott, has done some further animation work on the film and Band is planning to release a completed version of the film. David Allen and his production company associates continued to nurture a long-term association with Charles Band, producing animation and other effects for a series of Band produced and/or directed fantasy films released either theatrically and direct to video markets by Paramount Pictures during the 1980s and 90s. Some of the films in this series are the '' Puppet Master'' films, the '' Prehysteria'' series, the ''

'' films, and various impressive one-shot productions such as the skeletons of dinosaurs that come to life and do battle in the film ''

Doctor Mordrid ''Doctor Mordrid'' is a 1992 American superhero film directed by the team of Albert and Charles Band and starring Jeffrey Combs. Plot Anton Mordrid (Combs) is a wizard sent to Earth by a being called the Monitor, to stop the evil wizard Kabal ...

''. Allen's production company, now helmed by Chris Endicott, continues to do effects work on various films.

Personal life

In 1995, Allen was married to Donita Woodruff, whom he met in 1990. Woodruff learned that Allen had previously dated a woman named Valerie Taylor intermittently starting in 1985, which led to a dispute between Woodruff and Taylor. Woodruff suspected that Taylor had a criminal past, and found enough evidence to persuade the police to arrest her in 1996 for a 1979 murder in South Carolina. Taylor pleaded self-defense and served two years. Allen and Woodruff were divorced in 1998.Donita Woodruff, ''Deadly Masquerade: A True Story of Illicit Passion, Buried Secrets, and Murder'', Far Hills, N.J.: New Horizon Press, 2005. New York: St Martin’s Paperbacks 2007.

Visual effects

* 2022 ''The Primevals'' (Writer, Director, Special Effects) (Special project from Charles Band) *1996 ''The Legend of Galgameth'' (visual effects supervisor) *1996 '' Special Effects: Anything Can Happen'' (documentary short) (stop motion animator: King Kong sequence) * 1996 '' The Arrival'' (visual effects - uncredited) * 1996 '' Oblivion 2: Backlash'' (visual effects director - as David Allen) * 1994 '' Puppet Master 5: The Final Chapter'' (video) (puppet effects supervisor - as David Allen) * 1994 ''

Shrunken Heads A shrunken head is a severed and specially prepared human head that is used for trophy, ritual, or trade purposes. Headhunting has occurred in many regions of the world, but the practice of headshrinking has only been documented in the northwest ...

'' (visual effects coordinator - as David Allen) * 1994 '' Oblivion'' (special visual effects) * 1994 '' Bloodlust: Subspecies III'' (video) (stop motion supervisor) * 1993 ''

Puppet Master 4 ''Puppet Master 4'' is a 1993 direct-to-video horror film written by Charles Band among others, and directed by Jeff Burr. It is the fourth film in the ''Puppet Master'' franchise, a sequel to 1991's '' Puppet Master III'', and stars Gordon Curr ...

'' (video) (puppet effects supervisor - as David Allen) * 1993 ''

Dollman vs. Demonic Toys ''Dollman vs. Demonic Toys'' (on screen title being ''Dollman vs. the Demonic Toys'') is a 1993 American direct-to-video horror film. It is a continuation of three films released by Full Moon Features: '' Dollman'', ''Demonic Toys'' and ''Bad Cha ...

'' (video) (special effects animation) * 1993 ''

'' (stop motion animation) * 1993 '' Prehysteria!'' (special effects) * 1993 '' Robot Wars'' (visual effects supervisor) * 1992 ''

'' (special effects animation, visual effects - as David Allen) * 1992 ''

'' (video) (stop motion animation) * 1991 '' Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge'' (video) (stop motion animator: David Allen Productions, visual effects producer: David Allen Productions) * 1991 '' Subspecies'' (visual effects director) * 1991 ''

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

'' (animated main title, visual effects - as David Allen) * 1991 ''

Puppet Master II ''Puppet Master II'' is a 1990 direct-to-video horror film written by David Pabian and directed by Dave Allen. It is the second film in the ''Puppet Master'' franchise, the sequel to 1989's '' Puppet Master'', and stars Elizabeth Maclellan, Gr ...

'' (video) (visual effects supervisor: David Allen Productions) * 1990 ''

Robot Jox ''Robot Jox'' is a 1990 American Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic Mecha science fiction film, science-fiction film directed by Stuart Gordon and starring Gary Graham, Anne-Marie Johnson and Paul Koslo. Co-written by scien ...

'' (visual effects - as David Allen) * 1990 '' Bride of Re-Animator'' (special effects - as David Allen, special effects supervisor: David Allen Productions, special makeup effects: David Allen Productions, stop motion animation and miniatures: David Allen Productions) * 1989 '' Puppet Master'' (video) (puppet animator, visual effects supervisor) * 1989 '' Enemies, a Love Story'' (special effects) * 1989 ''

'' (stop motion animator/stop motion ant crew, stop motion animator: ant sequence - as David Allen) * 1989 '' Ghostbusters II'' (character performer: ILM - as David Allen) * 1988 '' Ghoulies II'' (stop motion sequences) * 1988 ''

'' (chief puppeteer - as David Allen) * 1988 ''

Pulse Pounders ''Pulse Pounders'' is a 1988 American anthology film directed by Charles Band. The film is composed of three 30-minute films, two of which are sequels to ''The Dungeonmaster'' and ''Trancers''. The third is an adaptation of H. P. Lovecraft's " The ...

'' (visual effects supervisor) * 1987 '' *batteries not included'' (chief puppeteer: uncredited; ILM visual effects: credited as rod puppet and stop motion supervisor) * 1987 ''

'' (special visual effects) * 1986 '' Eliminators'' (special optical effects) * 1985 ''

'' (chief puppeteer - as David Allen, pastry sequence motion supervisor: ILM - as David Allen) * 1985 ''

The Stuff ''The Stuff'' (also known as ''Larry Cohen's The Stuff'') is a 1985 American satirical science fiction horror film written and directed by Larry Cohen and starring Michael Moriarty, Garrett Morris, Andrea Marcovicci, and Paul Sorvino. It was also ...

'' (special visual effects - as David Allen) * 1984 ''

Ragewar ''The Dungeonmaster'' (originally ''Ragewar: The Challenges of Excalibrate'' and ''Digital Knights'') is a 1984 American anthology fantasy film produced by Charles Band, and is split up into seven distinct story segments, each written and direc ...

'' (visual effects designer - as David Allen) * 1983 '' Twilight Zone: The Movie'' (visual effects - segment 4 / as David Allan) * 1983 '' The Hunger'' (stop motion animator: monkey sequence - as David Allen) * 1982 '' Q'' (special visual effects - as David Allen) * 1982 '' White Dog'' (prosthetics) * 1981 ''

Caveman The caveman is a stock character representative of primitive humans in the Paleolithic. The popularization of the type dates to the early 20th century, when Neanderthals were influentially described as "simian" or " ape-like" by Marcellin Bo ...

'' (visual effects supervisor - as David Allen) * 1981 ''

'' (stop motion animation - as David Allen) * 1980 ''

The Day Time Ended ''The Day Time Ended'' is a 1980 American science fiction film directed by John 'Bud' Cardos and starring Jim Davis, Christopher Mitchum and Dorothy Malone. The film was originally titled ''Earth's Final Fury''; this was changed to ''Vortex'', w ...

'' (dimensional animation - as David Allen, technical advisor - as David Allen) * 1980 '' Witches' Brew'' (creator: "Lucifer" demon - as David Allen) * 1978 ''

'' (animation effects) * 1977 ''

'' (stop motion supervisor) * 1974 ''

'' (stop motion) * 1970 ''

When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth ''When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth'' (titled ''When Dinosaurs Ruled the World'' in the U.K.) is a 1970 British prehistoric dinosaur film from Hammer Films, written and directed by Val Guest, and starring Victoria Vetri. It was produced by Aida Yo ...

'' (stop motion effects) * 1970 ''

'' (special photographic effects, stop motion effects)

References

External links

*
Aboyd.com
* ttp://www.animated-divots.net/chrn1999.html Chronology of Animation: 1999 {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, David W. 1944 births 1999 deaths Animators from California Special effects people Stop motion animators Deaths from cancer in California