J.W. Rinzler (1962-2021)

Author and editor J.W. Rinzler, 58, died July 28, 2021 in Albion CA of pancreatic cancer. Rinzler was best known for numerous non-fiction books about the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films.

Jonathan W. Rinzler was born August 17, 1962 and grew up in Berkeley CA. He attended the Parsons School of Design, and graduated from NYU, where he also earned a master’s in comparative literature. In 2001 he began working for Lucasfilm, where he became executive editor of their publishing operations, Lucasbooks. He wrote many books about genre films, including

The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film (2007) and The Complete Making of Indiana Jones: The Definitive Story Behind All Four Films (2008, with Laurent Bouzereau). He also wrote graphic novel The Star Wars (2014, with Mike Mayhew), adapting George Lucas’s original Star Wars script. His novel All Up (2020) is historical fiction about spaceflight.

Rinzler is survived by his wife, two daughters, and a grandson.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *