John Eaves was born in Phoenix Arizona in 1962, being the son of a highway patrol family they were always on the move. Most of the small town he lived in did not have movie theatres but the local Arizona TV stations particularly KPHO Channel 5, knew what kids wanted to see. Every weekday after school me and all the patrol kids would watch the Wallace and Ladmo show, THIS WAS THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH!!!!!!! We would all get our fill of cartoons, crazy skits and the chance to win the coveted ladmo bag, which was a big grocery bag filled with prizes, tickets to shows, and pounds of Little Debbie and Hostess goodies!!!! To win one of these treasured bags was as important to a kid as an Oscar was to actor in Hollywood. This show was one of John’s early inspirations to want to work in the movies; every school day was a countdown to the big event. Saturday night!!!!! After the sun would set and dinner was done Mom would go to bed and John and his dad would turn on the late show. Channel 5 had a passion for old horror and Science fiction movies. Together they would be thrilled by the wonders of the Radioactive effects on every form of life imaginable, insects, man, monster, robots, creatures, everything!!! And despite the horrible effects of Atomic exposure and terrible mutations the end result was universal. It made every creature girl crazy! Ahhh those were the days and childhood in the desert was bliss because after all that’s were the atomic monsters lived!!!!! One night in 1975 a story hit the news in local Arizona. It was a story that seemed to come from far away from the desert and it was about something so scary that people were afraid to go in the ocean. The news showed countless empty beaches, and interviews of people saying they would never go in the water again, next the newscaster said it was because of a movie called “Jaws”. They proceeded to show a clip from the film in which a man named Quint drags his nails across a chalkboard and proceeds to tell the town folk what’s been killing everyone in the movie. John and his dad looked at each other and said I think we need to go see this!!! Well the rest is History. The movie fuelled the inspirations of a little dreamer and in 1985 moved to Hollywood and started work in the special effects business. John worked for all the old effects houses Apogee, Boss films, Fantasy II, USFX, and a host of others that are now only in the memories of film historians and those that worked there. Transitioning from the Model shop to the art Department his first drawing was for Steven Spielberg’s Seaquest DSV. From there he went on to be somewhat of a permanent figure in the Star Trek art Department. Herman Zimmerman the production designer for most of the TNG films and shows, hired john to work on the 7th Star Trek Film “Generations” where he was responsible for designing the U.S.S. Enterprise –B from which Captain Kirk would meet his demise. From there he joined the ST: DS9 in its fourth season. His primary role was to design gadgets and props for the next 4 seasons of the show. Integrated into this full time job was to split duties with the feature film department. Next was ST: First Contact. Eaves duties were to design a new Enterprise, the NCC-1701-E and the first warp ship the Phoenix. ST:Insurrection, and ST: Nemesis followed as well as the TV series Enterprise. To fill the gaps and keep the resume active, John worked on several comedies and remakes of popular films. In 2001 Eaves was hired on to work with one of his favorite directors John Carpenter. The movie was “Ghosts of Mars” and it was great experience to finally work with the horror maestro. Eaves is currently working on the new Star Trek film, which is only being identified by its code name!!!! So secret it is that even the code name is not known to anyone outside the show, WOOOOOOOOOO-WEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! On the side John creates gallery art for Acme archives, makes and paints prototype models for Master Replicas, and the Franklin Mint, and creates anniversary cachets for aviation and film milestones. His favorite pass time is spending time with his wife Tara on their ranch with their 4 rodeo daughters, Alyna, Alicia, Carlene, and Olivia.
Here is a list of some of John’s favorite films he’s worked on:
Top Gun (1985), The Hunt for Red October (1989), Innerspace (1987), Terminator 2 (1991) Star Trek First Contact (1997), Die Hard 2 (1991), John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars (2001), The Majestic (2000), Santa Clause 3 (2006), Valkyrie (2008) and Star Trek XI (2008)
