Ben Burtt
Burtt atStar Wars Celebration Europe II in Essen, Germany in 2013
Born	Benjamin Burtt Jr. (1948-07-12)July 12, 1948 (age 77) Jamesville, New York, U.S.
Education	Allegheny College
Alma mater	University of Southern California
Occupations	Sound designer film director film editor screenwriter voice actor
Years active	1975–present
Children	Benjamin A. Burtt
Awards	Doctor of Arts Charles S. Swartz Award Academy Award

Benjamin Burtt Jr. (born July 12, 1948) is an Americansound designer,film director,film editor,screenwriter, andvoice actor. As a sound designer, his credits include theStar Wars andIndiana Jones film series,Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978),E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982),WALL-E (2008), andStar Trek (2009).

Burtt is notable for popularizing theWilhelm scream in-joke and creating many of the iconic sound effects heard in theStar Warsfilm franchise, including the 'voice' ofR2-D2, thelightsaber hum, the sound of the blaster guns, the heavy-breathing sound ofDarth Vader, and creating the Ewoks’ language, Ewokese. Burtt was also the sound editor forWALL-E and performed the vocalizations ofthe titular character as well as other robots in the film.

Burtt has won fourAcademy Awards, two of which areSpecial Achievement Academy Awards. He has also directed numerous documentary films forIMAX and most notably the television seriesYoung Indiana Jones on the episode "Attack of the Hawkmen." He also served as the editor on multiple episodes of the show and theStar Wars prequel trilogy.

Burtt was born inJamesville, New York, on July 12, 1948.^[1] The son of a chemistry professor atSyracuse University and a child psychologist, Burtt made films as a child, and later studiedphysics atAllegheny College, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1970.^[2]

Burtt made films during his time in college, and in 1970 won a National Student Film Festival for hiswar film entitledYankee Squadron,^[2] reputedly after following exposure to classic aviation drama.^{[citation needed]} He had previously made an amateur film at theOld Rhinebeck Aerodrome, a living aviation museum inRed Hook, New York, under guidance from its founder,Cole Palen.^{[citation needed]}

For his work on the special-effects filmGenesis, Burtt won a scholarship to theUniversity of Southern California,^[2] where he earned amaster's degree infilm production.

Burtt pioneered many aspects of modern sound design, especially in thescience-fiction andfantasy-film genres.^[3] Before his work in the firstStar Wars (now known asStar Wars Episode IV: A New Hope) in 1977, science-fiction films tended to use electronic-sounding effects for futuristic devices. Burtt sought a more natural sound, blending in "found sounds" to create the effects. Thelightsaber hum, for instance, was derived from a film projector idling combined with feedback from a broken television set, and the blaster effect started with the sound acquired from hitting aguy-wire on aradio tower with ahammer.^[4]

In theStar Wars series, part of R2-D2's beeps and whistles are Burtt's vocalizations, also made using anARP 2600synthesizer, as are some of the squawks made by the tinyholographic monsters on theMillennium Falconspacecraft. InStar Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), Burtt's provided the voice forLushros Dofine, captain of theInvisible Hand cruiser. The heavy breathing of Darth Vader was created by recording Burtt's own breathing in an oldDacorscuba regulator.^{[citation needed]}

Burtt used the voice of an elderly lady that he had met in a photography shop for the voice ofE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. The woman's low pitch was the result of very heavy smoking, specifically Kool cigarettes. Burtt created the "voice" of the title character and many other robots inPixar's filmWALL-E (2008), about a lonely garbage-compactingrobot. Additionally, Burtt is responsible for the sound effects inIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008).^[5]

Burtt has a reputation for including a sound effect dubbed "theWilhelm scream" in many of the movies he has worked on. Taken from a character named "Wilhelm" in the filmThe Charge at Feather River, the sound can be heard in a large number of films, including inStar Wars Episode IV: A New Hope when astormtrooper falls into a chasm and inRaiders of the Lost Ark when aNazi soldier falls off the back of a moving car.

One of Burtt's more subtle sound effects is the "audio black hole". InAttack of the Clones, Burtt's use of the audio black hole involved the insertion of a short interval of absolute silence in the audio track, just prior to the detonation of "seismic charges" fired at the escaping Jedi spaceship. The effect of this short (less than one second) of silence is to accentuate the resulting explosion in the mind of the listener. Burtt has recalled the source of this idea as follows: "I think back to where that idea might have come to me...I remember in film school a talk I had with an old retired sound editor who said they used to leave a few frames of silence in the track just before a big explosion. In those days they would 'paint' out the optical sound with ink. Then I thought of the airlock entry sequence in2001. I guess the seeds were there for me to nourish when it came to the seismic charges."

Burtt was among thegolden ears that critically reviewed the variousaudio compression systems that were proposed for theATSC 1.0digital television system.

A tongue-in-cheek homage to Burtt appears in the 1997Activision PC gameZork: Grand Inquisitor - thespell 'Beburtt', which 'creates the illusion of inclement weather', plays dramatic thunderclap and rainfall sounds when cast.

Burtt has directed severalIMAXdocumentary films, includingBlue Planet,Destiny in Space, and theOscar-nominatedSpecial Effects: Anything Can Happen.^[6] He edited the entireStar Warsprequel trilogy, and several episodes ofThe Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. Burtt also wrote several episodes of the 1980sStar Wars cartoonDroids.^[7]

Burtt makes a cameo appearance in two of theStar Wars films as an extra. InReturn of the Jedi, he appeared as Colonel Dyer, the Imperial officer who yells "Freeze!" beforeHan Solo knocks him off a balcony. The scream as Burtt falls is his own imitation of theWilhelm scream that he popularized. InEpisode I – The Phantom Menace, Burtt appears in the background of the scene where Palpatine arrives on Naboo;^[8] his character is named Ebenn Q3 Baobab, a reference to aDroids character.

• WALL-E (2008) - WALL•E / M-O / Robots
• Lego The Incredibles (2018) - WALL•E
• Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (2019) - BD-1
• Disney Dreamlight Valley (2023) - WALL•E
• Disney Speedstorm (2023) - WALL•E

• Best Sound Effects Editing in 1989 forIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade
• Best Sound Effects Editing in 1982 forE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
• Special Achievement forSound Effects Editing inRaiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
• Special Achievement forSound Effects Editing inStar Wars (1977)
• Nominated for:
  • Best Sound Mixing andBest Sound Editing in 2008 forWALL-E^[9]
  • Best Sound Effects Editing in 1999 forStar Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
  • Best Documentary Short Subject in 1996 for directingSpecial Effects: Anything Can Happen
  • Best Sound in 1989 forIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade^[10]
  • Best Sound Effects Editing in 1988 forWillow
  • Best Sound andBest Sound Effects Editing in 1983 forReturn of the Jedi^[11]

• Nominated:Voice Acting in a Feature Production in 2008 forWALL-E

Burtt was awarded theDoctor of Arts,honoris causa, byAllegheny College on May 9, 2004.

TheHollywood Post Alliance awarded him with TheCharles S. Swartz Award for outstanding contributions to the field of post production.

In 2024, Burtt was recognized with theVision Award Ticinomoda at the77th Locarno Film Festival.^[12]

• Skywalker Sound
• Ben Burtt atIMDb
• Site detailing the history of The Wilhelm Scream
• Interview with Ben Burtt on Silicon Valley Radio
• Interview with Ben Burtt on Studio 360 about his career
• CineSource Magazine - Ben Burtt and the Sound of WALL-E

• 1948 births
• Living people
• Nottingham High School (New York) alumni
• American male voice actors
• Male actors from New York (state)
• USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni
• Allegheny College alumni
• Special Achievement Academy Award winners
• Best Sound BAFTA Award winners
• Best Sound Editing Academy Award winners
• American sound designers
• American sound editors
• People from DeWitt, New York
• Lucasfilm people
• Actors from Onondaga County, New York
• Motion Picture Sound Editors Career Achievement Award winners

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use American English from July 2022
• All Wikipedia articles written in American English
• Use mdy dates from July 2022
• Articles with hCards
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from January 2012
• Articles with unsourced statements from January 2023