Howard G. Kazanjian Biography

Fast Facts

• Was deputized as an Honorary Marshal of Dodge City, Kan․, in 2009
• He and future filmmaker George Lucas were Delta Kappa Alpha cinema fraternity brothers at the University of Southern California, and the two became good friends, even going on double dates with women they would later marry
• Was the Vice President of Production Lucasfilm, LTD starting after the 1977 release of "Star Wars․"
• Was part of The Dirty Dozen, a group of USC School of Cinematic Arts students who would go on to achieve success in Hollywood through innovative techniques and effects
• Though he was uncredited, he worked as a producer on "Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back" after Gary Kurtz left midway through production
• Wrote several nonfiction books with Chris Enss, including "The Cowboy and the Senorita: A Biography of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans․"
• While producing "Return of the Jedi," he created a fictional publicity campaign for a film called "Revenge of the Jedi" in order to catch black market merchandisers who would sell knock-off items before official merchandise hit shelves