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George Walton Lucas Jr. was born in Modesto, California, to George Walton Lucas Sr., a businessman who ran a stationery and business supply store, and Dorothy Ellinore Lucas. -
The Lucas family went to the opening of Disneyland. This was the start of George Jr.'s love for Disney. -
George attended Modesto Junior College. He started filming car races with an 8-millimeter camera and attending Canyon Cinema, which hosted underground, avant-garde 16-millimeter film screenings. -
Early on, he was interested in cars and racing and aspired to be a professional race car driver. George had a life-altering car accident just before high school graduation, which shifted his focus from racing to filmmaking. -
Lucas transferred to the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts and joined a clique of film students known as The Dirty Dozen. He also became good friends with Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film in 1967. -
Lucas wanted to join the Air Force, but they wouldn't let him because of all of his speeding tickets. That same year, he was also drafted into the Army for Viet Nam, but he was rejected because they found he had diabetes.
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George married Marcia Lou Griffin, who was a film editor. She even won an Academy Award for her editing work on the original Star Wars film. -
THX 1138 was George's first feature film. With the help of director Francis Ford Coppola, Lucas transformed his student film into the feature THX 1138, which was released in 1971. -
Lucas founded Lucasfilm Ltd. in 1971 in San Rafael, California, and later moved it to San Francisco in 2005. It went on to become a major force in the film industry. -
American Graffiti, his 1973 nostalgic film about early teenage life in the 1960s, was a critical commercial success. -
Star Wars, released in 1977, brought Lucas worldwide fame, broke box office records, and transformed special effects technology. -
George Lucas also created the Indiana Jones film franchise, starting with Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981, collaborating with Steven Spielberg. -
They adopted a daughter named Amanda in 1981. -
Marcia and George divorced. Marcia was the cheerleader for Lucasfilm and the cofounder before the divorce.
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Lucas founded THX, an audio company, with Tomlinson Holman. -
Lucas directed the music video for "To Know Him Is to Love Him" with Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, and Emmylou Harris. George dated Ronstadt for 5 years in the 1980s, but their relationship was kept very private. -
George adopted Katie as a single father in 1988. -
George adopted Jett as a single father, already caring for Amanda and Katie. -
Lucas announced that he was retiring from producing large blockbuster films.
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George married his second wife, Mellody Hobson, co-CEO and president of Ariel Investments. They had been dating since 2006. -
Lucas was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Obama for his contributions to American cinema. -
Everest is George's only biological child with Mellody Hobson, delivered via a surrogate. -
Lucas was given the Honorary Palme d'Or at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, a high honor in the film industry. -
Beeck, Ellie. (April 12, 2024). Who Is George Lucas' Wife? All About Mellody Hobson. People. Online. https://people.com/movies/who-is-mellody-hobson-george-lucas-wife/ HistoricModesto.com. From Modesto To A Galaxy Far, Far Away: George Walton Lucas, Jr. https://www.historicmodesto.com/People/George%20Lucas/index.html
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Kleiser, Randal. (July 27, 2023). Inside the USC Dirty Dozen and How They Changed Hollywood. Cereal at Midnight: Pop Culture in Analog. https://www.cerealatmidnight.com/2023/07/inside-usc-dirty-dozen-and-how-they.html Marcia Lucas. The Movie Data Base (TMDB). https://www.themoviedb.org/person/2551-marcia-lucas?language=en-US Whyte, Francois R. (April 3, 2025). “George Lucas is a GREAT Director.” YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqR8-7Rn22I