James Francis Cameron is a Canadian film director, film producer, deep-sea explorer, screenwriter, and editor who has directed the two biggest box office films of all time. He first found success with the science-fiction hit The Terminator. He then became a popular Hollywood director and was hired to write and direct Aliens; three years later he followed up with The Abyss. He found further critical acclaim for his use of special effects in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. After his film True Lies Cameron took on his biggest film at the time, Titanic, which earned him Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Film Editing. After Titanic, Cameron began a project that took almost 10 years to make: his science-fiction epic Avatar, for which he received nominations for the same three Academy Awards. In the time between making Titanic and Avatar, Cameron spent several years creating many documentary films and co-developed the digital 3D Fusion Camera System. Described by a biographer as part-scientist and part-artist, Cameron has also contributed to underwater filming and remote vehicle technologies. [More at Wikipedia]

August 16th, 1954 in Kapuskasing (Age 70)