Marcel Delgado

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Sculptor and model-maker born in Coahuila, Mexico, on January 16th, 1901. His family moved to California, in the United States, in 1910, running away from the Mexican Revolution. Sculptor since age 6, Marcel had to wait many years to be able to make a living with his talent.

As his family was very poor, he worked most of the time, leaving school behind. He didn´t learn English until he was 17, a fact that more often than not difficulted his getting a job. In 1921 he split his time working in a convenience store and taking art lessons in the Otis Arts Institute, where he also got a part-time job to pay for his lessons.

While he worked in the Institute he met Willis O'Brien, who worked in special effects for movies in Hollywood. O'Brien was a specialist in building miniature creatures and sets as well as in stop-motion animation. Impressed by Delgado's work, he tried to lure him away to work with him on several occasions, offering even four-times the salary than Delgado had at the time. The answer was always the same, "I don't wanna work in the movies. I want to be an artist".

When O'Brien was about to tackle the biggest challenge in his career, The Lost World, he decided to make one last attempt to gain the services of the young Mexican sculptor. He invited him to spend a day in the RKO studio where he was working. He walked Delgado through the whole place and then took him to the workshop where he did the all the miniatures' work. "Welcome to your studio", he said, and eventually that became truth. Delgado accepted to work with O'Brien just to be able to work in such a place. Y&ears later Delgado said about his place of work that "it was a clean, vast and organized place with cameras, lights, and all kind of materials. It was any artist's dream".

Delgado and O'Brien worked together for many years and soon became one of the most respected special effects crews in Hollywood.

Delgado retired in 1965 and died on November 26, 1976 in Los Angeles, California.

[edit] The movies

O'Brien and Delgado first work together was in The Lost World, but they became famous a few years later with King Kong(1933). Kong's success was followed by a failed sequel, Son of Kong. They also worked on movies like Last Days of Pompeii, 20.000 leagues under the sea and several others.

[edit] His contribution

Stop motion models where usually made from clay, and it was hard to move them between shots. Delgado built a skeleton for his models. This skeleton was made from Dural and it was then filled in with clay and gum and covered with latex to serve as skin, giving his models a more natural and realistic look at the same time that handling them became easier. Sometimes he also incorporated an inflatable bladder that helped him simulate breathing.