Ron Cobb, Designer of the 'Alien' Ship and the 'Back to the Future' DeLorean, Dies at 83 | Hollywood Reporter Ron Cobb, the underground cartoonist turned production designer who influenced the making of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and helped shape the worlds of Conan the Barbarian, Alien and Back to the Future, has died. He was 83. Cobb died Monday — his birthday — of Lewy body dementia in Sydney, his wife of 48 years, Robin Love, reported. Cobb brought to life several cantina creatures for Star Wars (1977) and came up with weaponry and sets for Conan the Barbarian (1982), the exterior and interior of the Nostromo ship in Alien (1978) and the earth colony complex in Aliens (1986) and the DeLorean time machine in Back to the Future (1985). His prolific design work also included the breathing tanks and helmets in The Abyss (1989), the Omega Sector logo and the H bombs in True Lies (1990), the interior of the Mothership and the stranded tanker in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and the vehicles of The Last Starfighter (1984). It was while working as a production designer on John Milius' Conan the Barbarian that Cobb first met Steven Spielberg, who was working down the hallway at Universal on Raiders of the Lost Ark. "I would suggest [to Spielberg] angles, ideas, verbalize the act of directing — 'Let's do this and do that, and we could shoot over his shoulder and then a close-up of the shadow,' " Cobb told the Los Angeles Times in 1988. On another note Ron was great friends with Phil Ochs and did the cover art for his War Is Over song book. He accompanied Phil to tour in Australia. RIP Ron
His career in pictures. From Alien to Back to the Future: the films of Ron Cobb – in pictures Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, 1977 Cobb designed some of the more elaborate aliens in the Mos Eisley cantina scene Photograph: PictureLux/The Hollywood Archive/Alamy Aliens, 1986 Cobb designed the interior and exterior sets and the vehicles of the earth colony complex on the alien planet Photograph: Everett Collection/Alamy The Abyss, 1989 Cobb contributed designs for the huge, underwater oil drilling platform Deep Core. He designed two full sized, operable research-style submersibles, the scuba gear and helmets used by the crew, as well as the liquid breathing suit Photograph: Alamy
RIP Ron Cobb...another true visionary artists in all sense of the word...graphic design, and film production! Thank you for all your artistic gifts!
I am the Phil Ochs guy. My son mentioned it because of his movie credits. I don't think he expected my reaction. Ron Cobb to me was first and foremost a cartoonist. One of the best. And a graphic designer. And photographer. One of Phil's small circle of friends, I cried when I saw his memorial cartoon for Phil(even as he was designing Star Wars). I never realized he was responsible for the look of movies I love. Figgers donnit? I grieve for thee Ron. Sending warm vibes to Robin.
