Author Jonathan Rinzler, who wrote under the name J.W. Rinzler, died on July 28, 2021 from pancreatic cancer. He was 58 years old.
Rinzler’s passing was announced by his daughter Sarah Rinzler, who tweeted, “Jonathan passed away on July 28 after a nearly one-year battle with pancreatic cancer. Thank you to all for your support and love.”
He wrote notable books about popular franchises like Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Alien. Rinzler penned over 20 books, with notable titles like The Making of Star Wars and The Complete Making of Indiana Jones and the graphic novel The Star Wars.
Rinzler was born in New Jersey and grew up in Manhattan and Berkley. He studied at New York’s Parsons School of Design then graduated from New York University.
His other Star Wars titles included The Sound of Star Wars, The Making of The Empire Strikes Back, and Star Wars: The Blueprints. Outside of that galaxy, he wrote The Making of Alien and The Making of Planet of the Apes.
From 2001 to 2016, he worked for Lucasfilm, attaining the position of executive editor.
Sarah writing: Jonathan passed away on July 28th after a nearly one-year battle with pancreatic cancer. Thank you to all for your support and love. https://t.co/e0R0JBOjpy
— J. W. Rinzler (@jwrinzler) August 4, 2021