Frank Van der Veer ( June 2 , 1921 - January 7 , 1982 ) was an American optical and visual special effects artist who won ( and shared ) a Special Achievement Academy Award at the 49th Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects for the film '' King Kong '' ( 1976 ) . His career spanned over three decades from the 1950s until his death in the early 1980s , having participated in the Hollywood special effects industry with such other films as '' The Towering Inferno '' ( 1974 ) , '' Killer Bees '' ( 1974 ) , '' Logan 's Run '' ( 1976 ) , '' Star Wars '' ( 1977 ) , '' 1941 '' ( 1979 ) , '' Flash Gordon '' ( 1980 ) , '' Clash of the Titans '' ( 1981 ) and '' Conan the Barbarian '' ( 1982 )
49th Academy Awards
49th Academy Awards
Frank Van der Veer