Colin Chilvers Dies: Oscar-Winning VFX Director Who Helped Christopher Reeve Fly and Michael Jackson Lean Into ‘Smooth Criminal’ Was 79

Colin Chilvers, a pioneering Oscar-winning Hollywood visual effects artist who created movie magic for Superman, apocalyptic scenarios and even The Who’s Tommy, died Tuesday November 19 in Fort Erie, Ontario, where he lived. He was 79.

His death was first reported Wednesday by the news radio station 101.1FM in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Among Chilvers’ more memorable feats were the effects that gave Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder the illusion of flying in Richard Donner’s 1978 classic Superman, work that had him share in a team Oscar for Visual Effects.

In 1986, Chilvers created the dazzling trickery that allowed Michael Jackson to defy gravity by leaning forward 45 degrees with no visible means of support in the music video for “Smooth Criminal.” (Chilvers directed the video, along with various other Jackson video collections.)

Chilvers’ post-Superman credits from the ’80s through the 2000s also included Superman 2 and Superman 3, Bride of Chucky, X-Men, and K-19: The Widowmaker.

Born in 1945 in London, England, he trained for his chosen career through Hornsey College of Art, and worked as an uncredited trainee animation director for a short time on the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.  

Even before his Superman breakthrough, Chilvers had worked on special effects for such offbeat, often countercultural 1970s fare as 200 Motels, Frankenstein: The True Story, Tommy, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Lisztomania.

Chilvers’ final credit was Shoot ‘Em Up, a 2007 action film starring Clive Owen. Chilvers’ friend Andrew Harris of Welland, Ontario, told 101.1FM that after Chilvers retired from Hollywood, he settled into Ontario and became an avid woodworker.