Robert Abel
Robert Abel (March 10, 1937 – September 23, 2001) was an American pioneer in visual effects, computer animation and interactive media, best known for the work of his company, Robert Abel and Associates. Robert Abel was born in Cleveland, he received degrees in Design and Film from UCLA. He began his work in computer graphics in the 1950s, as an apprentice to John Whitney. In the 1960s and early 1970s, Abel wrote or directed several films, including The Making of the President, 1968, Elvis on Tour and Let the Good Times Roll.
Robert Abel
- Name
- Robert Abel
- Born
- 10 March 1937
- Birthplace
- Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
- Died
- 23 September 2001
- Place of death
- Los Angeles, California, U.S.
- Occupation
- Film director
- Nationality
- United States
- Education
- University of California and Los Angeles
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Robert Abel (March 10, 1937 – September 23, 2001) was an American pioneer in visual effects, computer animation and interactive media, best known for the work of his company, Robert Abel and Associates. Robert Abel was born in Cleveland, he received degrees in Design and Film from UCLA. He began his work in computer graphics in the 1950s, as an apprentice to John Whitney. In the 1960s and early 1970s, Abel wrote or directed several films, including The Making of the President, 1968, Elvis on Tour and Let the Good Times Roll.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Robert Abel. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q7341326
In this article
Biography
Biography
In 1971, Abel and Con Pederson founded Robert Abel and Associates (RA&A), creating slit-scan effects and using motion-controlled cameras for television commercials and films. RA&A began using Evans & Sutherland computers to previsualize their effects; this led to the creation of the trailer for The Black Hole, and the development of their own software for digitally animating films (including Tron). Abel and Associates was contracted to provide Paramount Pictures the special effects for Star Trek: The Motion Picture, but was not able to deliver them, and its services were terminated by Paramount. In 1984, Robert Abel and Associates produced a commercial named Brilliance for the Canned Food Information Council for airing during the Super Bowl XIX telecast. It featured a sexy robot with reflective environment mapping and human-like motion. Abel & Associates closed in 1987 following an ill-fated merger with now defunct Omnibus Computer Graphics, Inc., a company which had been based in Toronto. In the 1990s, Abel founded Synapse Technologies, an early interactive media company, which produced pioneering educational projects for IBM, including "Columbus: Discovery, Encounter and Beyond" and "Evolution/Revolution: The World from 1890-1930". He received numerous honors, including a Golden Globe Award (for Elvis on Tour), 2 Emmy Awards, and 33 Clios. Abel died from complications following a heart attack at the age of 64. Abel's film By the Sea, made with Pat O'Neill, was preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2007.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Robert Abel • Born — 10 March 1937 • Birthplace — Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. • Died — 23 September 2001 • Place of death — Los Angeles, California, U.S. • Occupation — Film director
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Cleveland.
Birth place
Los Angeles.
Death place
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 20 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Film memorabilia
37,515 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Robert A. DillonPerson
- Robert A. MasciantonioPerson
- Robert A. McGowanPerson
- Robert A. StemmlePerson
- Robert AddiePerson
- Robert AdetuyiPerson
- Robert AldaPerson
- Robert AldrichPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Robert Abel?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.