Jonathan Rinzler

Jonathan Rinzler was a best-selling author of both reference books and novels, notably associated with the Star Wars franchise. An alumnus of the Parson's School of Design in Lower Manhattan, he graduated with a master's degree in comparative literature from New York University. Between 2001 and 2014, he served as executive editor of Lucasbooks, the publishing subsidiary of Lucasfilm. He penned more than 20 books, including definitive histories of the making of the original Star Wars movie as well as Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980). He also wrote the scripts for two season six episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008). Rinzler left Lucasfim in 2016. Outside of Star Wars, he published books about the making of Indiana Jones, Planet of the Apes (1968), Alien (1979) and The Shining (1980). A 2018 novel, All Up, is a blend of history and speculative fiction dealing with the cloak-and-dagger world of astrodynamics during and after the Second World War and the space race, leading up to the Apollo 11 moon mission. Rinzler passed away at the premature age of 58 from pancreatic cancer on July 28 2021.