During 1965, Kurtz was an assistant director on a Monte Hellman Western, Ride in the Whirlwind, starring Jack Nicholson for Proteus Films.

[2] He then served as production manager on Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet with Basil Rathbone and Faith Domergue for American International Pictures.

Kurtz then worked as an assistant camera operator on another Monte Hellman western, The Shooting, starring Warren Oates and Jack Nicholson, and finally wore multiple hats as production manager, assistant director, and editor on the Harry Dean Stanton-starring The Hostage, both for Crown International Pictures.

[2] Raised as a Quaker, Kurtz enlisted as a conscientious objector, refusing to wear a sidearm, and served as a combat cameraman in Vietnam.

[4] The pair eventually found favor at Universal Pictures, who allowed Lucas total artistic control and the right of final cut privilege on the condition that he and Kurtz make American Graffiti on a strict, low budget.

Universal initially projected a $600,000 budget, but added an additional $175,000 once producer Francis Ford Coppola signed on to co-produce with Kurtz.

The consensus reads, "One of the most influential of all teen films, American Graffiti is a funny, nostalgic, and bittersweet look at a group of recent high school grads' last days of innocence.

[9] Kurtz and Coppola went on to win the Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) at the 31st Golden Globe Awards, while Paul Le Mat won Most Promising Newcomer.

"[14] In 1973, at approximately the same time as he began his collaboration with George Lucas, Kurtz formed his own company, Kinetographics, in San Rafael, California.

When principal photography began on Star Wars on March 22, 1976, in the Tunisian desert for the scenes on the planet Tatooine, the project faced several problems.

[15] Lucas fell behind schedule in the first week of shooting due to a rare Tunisian rainstorm, malfunctioning props, and electronic breakdowns.

Records at Elstree Studios indicate that the movie took 175 shooting days, having been budgeted at 100, which forced Lucas to borrow $10 million to complete the film.

Kurtz had to help direct along with David Tomblin, Irvin Kershner, Harley Cokeliss and John Barry (who died of meningitis during production) to bring the film in on even this revised schedule and budget.

The actual completion of photography occurred a month after the film's 'wrap party' in late August 1979, which Kurtz and his wife hosted.

[17] Kurtz was actively involved from post production through its release in theatres in the US and the UK, but was replaced four weeks before filming wrapped by Howard Kazanjian.

[18] The Empire Strikes Back was released on May 21, 1980, becoming the most critically acclaimed chapter in the Star Wars saga and one of the most highly rated films in history.

Kurtz claimed that after Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981, Lucas became convinced that audiences no longer cared about the story and were simply there for thrills and entertainment, and began to deviate from the originally planned plotlines for Return of the Jedi, at which point Kurtz quit the series—though opposing sources state that he was fired by Lucas due to his mishandling of The Empire Strikes Back, which went massively overbudget and overschedule.

[25] In a 2010 interview for the L.A. Times, Kurtz revealed he had become disillusioned with what he saw as the commercially driven direction the franchise was taking, as well as the related changes that Lucas made to the plot of the third movie, which was originally much darker, and supposedly included the death of Han Solo.

[27][28] Kurtz' next production was The Dark Crystal, a 1982 American-British fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz.

Japanese animators Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata were briefly involved, but left due to creative differences with Fujioka.

[34] In the time between the development period and actual shooting, there was a change of leadership at the Walt Disney studios, with Wilhite being replaced by Richard Berger, and the movie's budget increased.

Born in Los Angeles, he moved to London, England for the production of Star Wars and elected to permanently remain and raise his family there.