Tory Belleci
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| Tory Belleci | |
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| Born | Salvatore Paul Belleci October 30, 1970 Monterey, California, United States |
| Occupation | MythBusters (build team), Model maker |
| Website | |
| ToryB.com | |
Salvatore Paul "Tory" Belleci[1] (born October 30, 1970) is a filmmaker and model maker. He is best known for his work on the Discovery Channel television program MythBusters. He has also worked with Industrial Light and Magic on films, such as: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. The Federation battleships and podracers are some of Tory's pieces. He attended San Francisco State University.
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[edit] Early amateur science experiments
Tory Belleci has a long history of working with fire and explosives. At an early age, his dad showed him how to make a Molotov cocktail. He later built what was essentially a homemade flamethrower. The device caused a dangerous incident, when he accidentally lit part of his house on fire.[2] When he was 19, he was nearly arrested for setting off a home made pipe bomb near his parents' home in Seaside, California. The officer encouraged young Belleci to find a way of expressing his love for explosions and special effects that did not involve getting arrested.[3]
[edit] Early professional career
Belleci has been quoted saying he became interested in the special effects industry after doing a report on movie special effects while in high school. In 1994, after graduating from San Francisco State University's film school, he started working with Jamie Hyneman, at a small production company. Tory worked as a stage manager, running errands and cleaning the shop, but quickly moved up the ranks. A few years later, he started work at Industrial Light and Magic (ILM). Tory worked for ILM for eight years as a model builder, sculptor, and painter.[4] Belleci began work on Discovery Channel's MythBusters, in 2003, doing work behind the scenes and, in the second season, was featured as part of the show's build team. In the show's third season, he received on-screen credit.[3] In 2005, Belleci persuaded fellow ILM veteran Grant Imahara to join the show, following the departure of original cast member Scottie Chapman.
[edit] Work in film industry
Tory worked on: the Matrix trilogy, Van Helsing, Peter Pan, Starship Troopers, Galaxy Quest and Bicentennial Man.[5]
One of his short films, SandTrooper, has appeared on Syfy and in the Slamdance Film Festival.[6]
[edit] Work on Mythbusters
Belleci is often considered, by fellow MythBusters Kari Byron and Grant Imahara, to be more of a daredevil and, as such, often performs the more dangerous stunts when testing a myth. These have included: testing the "Red Flag to a Bull" myth; testing the myth that a human's tongue will instantly stick to a frozen pole, in the "Snow Special" episode; and the myth "can you stay underwater for an hour while breathing through a dart tube?", in the "Ninja Movie Myths 2" episode. One of his more popular stunts, shown several times on the show, was an attempt to jump over a toy wagon on a bicycle; the attempt failed, resulting in Belleci flipping over and face-planting. As a result of doing these stunts, he is often involved in comical accidents while testing myths.[3]
During the "Hollywood Hang" sequence, of the 2010 episode "Soda Cup Killer", Belleci fell off a roof, and despite being strapped into a safety harness system, landed in an open window ledge close below the drop point, and hurt his leg causing substantial bleeding.[7]
[edit] Humanitarian work
During Mythbusters' 2010 break Tory volunteered time to visit Haiti. He visited orphanages and installed clean water systems with "Life Giving Force", a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing clean water to communities in need. Tory himself is a devout Christian and viewed the trip as missions work. He communicated that the trip has had a profound effect on him and that he admires the resilience of the Haitian people.
[edit] References
- ^ "California Births 1905-1995". Family Tree Legends Records Collection. Pearl Street Software. http://www.familytreelegends.com/records/calbirths?c=search&first=Salvator&last=Belleci&spelling=Exact&4_year=1970&4_month=10&4_day=30&5=&7=&SubmitSearch.x=0&SubmitSearch.y=0&SubmitSearch=Submit. Retrieved 2010-10-07.
- ^ Jeff Sullivan (April 25, 2008). "Busted: Discovery show hosts reveal truth behind myths". The Good 5 Cent Cigar. http://www.ramcigar.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&ustory_id=01c42f25-074e-448a-bb6d-9d354da0c73f&page=2. Retrieved 2010-10-07.
- ^ a b c Cabera, Marc (October 4, 2010). "The Beat: Local boy paid to blow stuff up". Monterey County Herald. Northern California Network. http://www.montereyherald.com/ci_16241830. Retrieved 2010-10-07.[dead link]
- ^ "Tory: Bio: Mythbusters". MythBusters Official Site. Discovery Communications. http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/meet/tory-belleci.html. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
- ^ Tarling, Lowell (2006). Mythbusters Busted: 17 Mythbuster Classics That Could Happen To You. Wilkinson Publishing. p. 12. ISBN 9781921203107.
- ^ "MythBusters in Pop Culture". MythBusters Official Site. Discovery Communications. http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/about/mythbusters-pop-culture.html. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
- ^ Snyder, Steven James (March 25, 2010). "Mythbusters: An Appreciation. You Can Bust My Myth Anytime". Techland. Time. http://techland.com/2010/03/25/mythbusters-an-appreciation-you-can-bust-my-myth-anytime/. Retrieved 2010-10-07.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Cast bio on MythBusters official site
- Tory Belleci at the Internet Movie Database
- Tory Belleci on Myspace
- Haitian Work
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