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ca94002
I met Jerry Lawson through another pioneer of the industry Art Fury. That had ...
Luis Sanchez
Jerry Lawson, video game pioneer, dead at 70
Dylan McGrath
4/11/2011 7:36 PM EDT
SAN FRANCISCO—Gerald A. "Jerry" Lawson, an EE best known for his work designing Fairchild Semiconductor's Channel F video game console, died Saturday (April 9) at the age of 70, according to a family friend.
According to a posting on Wikipedia, Lawson was chief hardware engineer and director of engineering and marketing for Fairchild's video game division. He also founded and ran Videosoft, a video game development company which made software for the Atari 2600 in the early 1980s, according to the posting.
Lawson also produced one of the earliest arcade games, Demolition Derby, which debuted in a Southern California pizzeria shortly after Pong, according to the Wikipedia posting. He later worked with the Stanford mentor program and was preparing to write a book on his career, according to the posting.
David Erhart, a family friend who had known Lawson for about 10 years, posted the news on the Digital Press video game database site Monday. Ederhart said that Lawson's health had been in decline for several years due to complications from diabetes. He had lost an eye on part of one leg because of these complications, Erhart said. The cause of his death was "basically a heart attack," Erhart said.
Lawson leaves behind a wife and two grown children, according to Erhart.
"He was an amazing guy," Erhart said. "He had so much energy and just an infinite number of stories about the old days."
Erhart said Lawson remained true to his passion for engineering until the end, constantly tinkering with circuit boards. In his later years he developed a keen interest in laser technology, Erhart said. Erhart was supposed to have attended a HAM radio swap meet with Lawson at a local college on Saturday, he said, but Lawson had been hospitalized in the middle of last week.
Last month, Lawson was profiled by the San Jose Mercury News and honored by the International Game Developers Association for his pioneering contributions to gaming.
According to the Wikipedia posting, Lawson was born in December 1940 in Queens, N.Y. He was living in Santa Clara, Calif., at the time of his death, according to the posting.
Erhart said a memorial service for Lawson is being planned and that it would probably take place some time next month.
According to a posting on Wikipedia, Lawson was chief hardware engineer and director of engineering and marketing for Fairchild's video game division. He also founded and ran Videosoft, a video game development company which made software for the Atari 2600 in the early 1980s, according to the posting.
Lawson also produced one of the earliest arcade games, Demolition Derby, which debuted in a Southern California pizzeria shortly after Pong, according to the Wikipedia posting. He later worked with the Stanford mentor program and was preparing to write a book on his career, according to the posting.
David Erhart, a family friend who had known Lawson for about 10 years, posted the news on the Digital Press video game database site Monday. Ederhart said that Lawson's health had been in decline for several years due to complications from diabetes. He had lost an eye on part of one leg because of these complications, Erhart said. The cause of his death was "basically a heart attack," Erhart said.
Lawson leaves behind a wife and two grown children, according to Erhart.
"He was an amazing guy," Erhart said. "He had so much energy and just an infinite number of stories about the old days."
Erhart said Lawson remained true to his passion for engineering until the end, constantly tinkering with circuit boards. In his later years he developed a keen interest in laser technology, Erhart said. Erhart was supposed to have attended a HAM radio swap meet with Lawson at a local college on Saturday, he said, but Lawson had been hospitalized in the middle of last week.
Last month, Lawson was profiled by the San Jose Mercury News and honored by the International Game Developers Association for his pioneering contributions to gaming.
According to the Wikipedia posting, Lawson was born in December 1940 in Queens, N.Y. He was living in Santa Clara, Calif., at the time of his death, according to the posting.
Erhart said a memorial service for Lawson is being planned and that it would probably take place some time next month.
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Luis Sanchez
4/11/2011 10:42 PM EDT
How is the videogame generation called?
Last week died another great engineer involved in the development of the Internet, Paul Baran I believe. Now Mr. Lawson who was a videogame pioneer. Looks like is the dawn of an era. I feel a little envy I didn't come to leave in those days in which computers and the internet was wearing diapers. Now looks to me it's at its adolescence.
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ca94002
4/12/2011 3:46 PM EDT
I met Jerry Lawson through another pioneer of the industry Art Fury. That had to be at least 25+ years ago.
I would see Jerry almost monthly at the DeAnza flea market ... We'd talk about new things and old times.
I didn't know him as a video game pioneer - I knew him as a friend of Art and my friend. Jerry and I would talk about the latest and often questionable "great" technology. Remembering the days when CCDs were going to replace hard drives..
I'll miss him. The Flea Market just won't be as interesting...
By Jerry , Say Hi to Art
Noland Lewis
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