
Person
Ben Burtt
Sound · Born 1948-07-12 · Jamesville, New York, USA
Biography
Benjamin "Ben" Burtt, Jr. is a sound designer, film editor, director, screenwriter, and voice actor. He has worked as sound designer on various films, including the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film series, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, WALL-E, and Star Trek. He is responsible for creating many of the iconic sound effects heard in the Star Wars film franchise, including the binary speech of R2-D2, the lightsaber hum, the sound of the blaster guns, and the heavy-breathing sound of Darth Vader, which he made by breathing into a scuba regulator. Burtt has a reputation for popularizing a sound effect dubbed the "Wilhelm scream", which was taken from a character named Wilhelm in the 1953 film The Charge at Feather River.
Known for

WALL·E
WALL·E / M-O (voice)

Star Wars
Sound Designer

Alien
Sound Designer

Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Sound Designer

Raiders of the Lost Ark
Sound Designer

The Empire Strikes Back
Sound Designer

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
Naboo Courier (uncredited)

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Sound Designer

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
Editor

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Sound Designer
Filmography
- 2026Ray GunnSound Designer
- 2022LIGHT & MAGICSelf - Sound Designer and Editor
- 2021Under the Helmet: The Legacy of Boba FettSelf
- 2021Star Wars Galaxy of SoundsSound Designer
- 2021Jet Jockeys in Love: The Making of CHAIN LIGHTNING ('50)Self
- 2019Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic SoundSelf
- 2018The Force of SoundSelf
- 2015Star Wars: The Force AwakensSound Designer
- 2015I Am Your FatherHimself
- 2014The SignalSound Designer
- 2014And the Oscar Goes To...Self - Interviewee
- 2014EditDroid: Rise and FallSelf
- 2013The Making of the Wonderful Wizard of OzSelf
- 2013Star Trek Into DarknessSound Designer
- 2013Escape from Planet EarthSound Designer
- 2013Lincoln: An American JourneySelf
- 2012LincolnSound Designer
- 2012009 Re:CyborgSound Designer
- 2012John CarterSound Designer
- 2012Wings: Grandeur in the SkySelf
- 2012Red TailsSound Designer
- 2012Michael Curtiz: The Greatest Director You Never Heard OfSelf
- 2011Super 8Sound Designer
- 2009Star TrekSpecial Sound Effects
- 2008WALL·E's Treasures & TrinketsWALL·E / M-O (voice)
- 2008Animation Sound Design: Building Worlds from the Sound Up
- 2008BURN·EWALL·E / M-O (voice) (uncredited)
- 2008RKO Production 601: The Making of “Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World”Self
- 2008WALL·EWALL·E / M-O (voice)
- 2008Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal SkullSound Designer
- 2007Fog City MavericksSelf
- 2007Standing on the Shoulders of Kubrick: The Legacy of 2001Self
- 2007The Dawn of Sound: How Movies Learned to TalkSelf
- 2006Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi IconSelf
- 2006Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden PlanetSelf
- 2005MunichSound Designer
- 2005Star Wars: Within a Minute - The Making of Episode IIISelf
- 2005Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed CinemaSelf
- 2005Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the SithEditor
- 2005George Lucas: Creating an EmpireSelf
- 2004Star Wars: Droids - Treasure of the Hidden PlanetStory
- 2004Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars TrilogySelf - Sound Designer
- 2004When Star Wars Ruled the WorldSelf
- 2003The Sound of 'Indiana Jones'Self
- 2002Films Are Not Released, They EscapeSelf
- 2002State of the Art: The Pre-Visualization of 'Episode II'Self
- 2002From Puppets to Pixels: Digital Characters in 'Episode II'Self
- 2002Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the ClonesWat Tambor (uncredited)
- 2002Manassas: End of InnocenceDirector
- 2001R2-D2: Beneath the DomeSelf
- 2000The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Espionage EscapadesSound Designer
- 1999The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Demons of DeceptionEditor
- 1999The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Oganga, the Giver and Taker of LifeEditor
- 1999The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Daredevils of the DesertEditor
- 1999The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Tales of InnocenceSound Designer
- 1999The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Mystery of the BluesSecond Unit Director
- 1999The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Spring Break AdventureSecond Unit Director
- 1999The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Phantom Train of DoomSecond Unit Director
- 1999The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Masks of EvilSound Designer
- 1999The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Trenches of HellEditor
- 1999Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom MenaceNaboo Courier (uncredited)
- 1997Star Wars: The Magic & the MysterySelf
- 1996Behind the Scenes with King Kong in Special EffectsDirector
- 1996The Making of 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'Self
- 1996Special Effects: Anything Can HappenDirector
- 1996The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Travels with FatherSound Designer
- 1995The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Attack of the HawkmenWriter
- 1994Destiny in SpaceDirector
- 1992The American GangsterDirector
- 1991The True Story of Glory ContinuesDirector
- 1990Blue PlanetDirector
- 1989AlwaysSound Designer
- 1989Indiana Jones and the Last CrusadeSound Designer
- 1988WillowSound Designer
- 1986Howard the DuckSound Effects Editor
- 1986Star Wars: Droids - The Great HeepAssociate Producer
- 1985Star Wars: DroidsStory
- 1984The Adventures of André and Wally B.Sound Designer
- 1984Indiana Jones and the Temple of DoomSound Designer
- 1983From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a SagaSelf
- 1983Return of the Jedi'Freeze' Officer in Endor Bunker / Tortured Power Droid (voice)
- 1982listen...Sound Effects
- 1981Raiders of the Lost ArkSound Designer
- 1980Porklips NowMilitary Consultant
- 1980The Making of The Empire Strikes BackSelf
- 1980SP FX: The Empire Strikes BackSelf
- 1980The Empire Strikes BackSound Designer
- 1980Star Wars: Music by John WilliamsSelf
- 1979More American GraffitiSupervising Sound Editor
- 1979AlienSound Designer
- 1978Invasion of the Body SnatchersSound Effects Designer
- 1978The Star Wars Holiday SpecialSound Effects
- 1977Star WarsSound Designer
- 1975Death Race 2000Sound Designer
- 1975Recorded LiveSound Re-Recording Mixer
- —A Bucket of Water and a Glass Matte
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