Tony Dyson
Also known as Anthony John Dyson
Tony Dyson was a British special effects designer and roboticist who built the R2-D2 droids seen in Star Wars. Born in Dewsbury in 1947, he founded the White Horse Toy Company, whose studio produced eight R2-D2 units and the master molds for The Empire Strikes Back between 1978 and 1980. His film work also covered the robot Hector in Saturn 3, model spacemen for Moonraker and a dragon puppet for Dragonslayer, and a Sony commercial robot brought an Emmy nomination in 1985. He set up a robotics lab on Crete in the mid-1980s, moved to Malta in the 1990s and founded Turn Page Studios there. In 2013 he received the title of Honorary Professor MBA in multimedia, and in 2016 he died on the island of Gozo.
Timeline
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1947
Born in Dewsbury
Anthony John Dyson is born in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, in 1947. He attends the private Stratton House School in Abingdon.
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1978–1980
Eight R2-D2s for Empire
From 1978 to 1980, he works on the R2-D2 project for The Empire Strikes Back through his White Horse Toy Company, a rocking-horse maker in Crawley near Oxford. The studio fabricates fibreglass shells for the rebuilt props and delivers eight units plus the master molds, two of them remote controlled and two built for Kenny Baker to sit in.
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1980–1981
Hector and Dragonslayer
He helps build the evil robot Hector for Saturn 3 in 1980 and works on one of the puppets for the dragon Vermithrax Pejorative in 1981's Dragonslayer. His other credits include Superman II and Moonraker, where he builds 36 laser-gun-toting model spacemen.
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1980s
A robotics lab in Crete
In the mid-1980s, he moves with his family to Kissamos on the island of Crete. There he sets up a robotics lab and a western-themed arcade, where several of his cowboy robots serve as interactive arcade games.
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1985
Emmy nomination for a Sony robot
In 1985, he is nominated for an Emmy Award for a Sony commercial featuring a John Cleese look-alike robot. His client list also includes Philips and Toshiba.
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1990s
Turn Page Studios in Malta
In the 1990s, he moves to Malta and founds Turn Page Studios in St. Paul's Bay.
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2013
Honorary professor in multimedia
In 2013, he is honoured with the title of Honorary Professor MBA in multimedia for the Stichting Euregio University in the Netherlands.
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2016
Death on Gozo
He dies in 2016, aged 68, and is found in his home on the Maltese island of Gozo. By then he has spent years organizing R2-D2-building clubs in England for amateur builders.
Career
- From 2013Stichting Euregio UniversityHonorary Professor MBA in multimedia
- 1978–1980White Horse Toy CompanyFounder
- Turn Page StudiosFounder
Sources and credits
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