Robert Watts dead: Hollywood legend who produced Star Wars & Indiana Jones movies dies aged 86 as friends pay tribute
A HOLLYWOOD legend who collaborated with George Lucas to produce Star Wars and Indiana Jones has died aged 86.
Robert Watts was a titan in the movie industry, producing film classics featuring A-list actors.
Julian Owen at Alliance Agents confirmed the British producer's death in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
He said: "We were with him for a decade taking him to conventions all over the world, where he could connect with fans and talk about his career."
Several heartfelt tributes have been shared on social media by former colleagues and friends.
Roger Christian, a set decorator who won an Oscar for his work on Star Wars, took to Facebook to pay tribute to Robert Watts, claiming that "he was one of five people who really stood by George and our tiny art department to get Star Wars made”.
From a young age, Robert was destined to be in the movie business as his grandfather, Walter Meade, was already an established screenwriter.
Wanting to follow in his grandfather's footsteps, Robert became a runner on the comedy "A French Mistress" after returning from two years of national service in Nigeria.
He would later be promoted to production manager at Shepperton Studios.
However, Robert's career took off when he collaborated with George Lucas to film Star Wars.
In a 2011 interview, he explained how at the start of filming, Lucas "was paying for us all personally because Fox had still not greenlighted the film, and they didn’t do that until January".
Robert added: "They were under great financial problems themselves and did not believe in the movie."