Tom Howard (born in Kent on 27 March 1910) was an esteemed British special effects artist who gained especial prestige for his work in the 1940s – 1960s, in what is considered the golden age of Hollywood filmmaking.
By 1945, his prestigious innovations would come to the attention of MGM, who would end up appointing him as Director of Visual Effects for their British Studios division, located in Borehamwood, a town in Southern Hertfordshire, UK.
His most notable works include the burning of Rome in Mervyn LeRoy's Quo Vadis and many of the effects shots that made Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey such a beloved film.
In 1958, Howard would win his sophomore Academy Award for his involvement with George Pal’s Tom Thumb at the 31st Academy Award ceremony, and continue to work on many films, including The Haunting, Where Eagles Dare, et al. A quiet, unassuming man, he made his home near the MGM studios in the village of Bushey where he and his wife, Dorothy, brought up their children, and the only sign of his illustrious film reputation were the doorstops to his study and the dining room which, on closer inspection, turned out to be his Oscars.
However, in the late 1970s, he was featured in an extended two-part interview on the program Clapperboard, hosted by Chris Kelly, where he discussed his experiences in Hollywood and the magic of visual effects.