World-famous prop designer John Zabrucky was born and raised in Warren and earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in fine arts at Kent State University in the 1970s. He taught design at Kent State, the University of Akron and at the Mansfield Reformatory before leaving for Los Angeles. Zabrucky, a pioneer in sustainable prop design, is the founder of Modern Props, the legendary Hollywood prop shop behind some of the most iconic science fiction films of the last four decades. In 2023, he donated more than 500 original high-tech props to Trumbull County Historical Society — pieces featured in blockbuster productions such as “Ghostbusters,” “Blade Runner,” “Men in Black” and “Galaxy Quest,” as well as numerous items in the “Star Trek,” Marvel and DC universes. Lately, he has been spending time back in Ohio.
Q: Is there one movie or prop you are most proud of that showcases your work?
John Zabrucky:
There is a device, a communicator for “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.” The film director, Nicholas Meyer, wanted a communicator that wasn’t super futuristic, one with knobs and dials. Searching the shop, I came upon three walkie-talkies that were at least 10 inches long, 3 inches wide and 1.5 inches deep with an antenna. These were made for the conflict in Vietnam.
The director’s request was to take the Vietnam-era walkie talkie, make it smaller and put a hinge face on it to flip up. I made three of them, using parts from the actual Vietnam-issued walkie talkies, putting them in a milling machine to shave material off them.
I have quite a history with the war in Vietnam. I protested that war at Sheep’s Meadow in Central Park with Jane Fonda and others. I was at Kent State during the riots and massacre. My pre-induction number for the draft was 13. I came to grips with making a symbolically potent retrograde communicator for a major motion picture using this walkie talkie that was actually in Vietnam.
The Star Trek mandate includes humanist principles of the United Federation of Planets. The communicator is clearly not a weapon but is an extension of a man and a system dedicated to preserving life in all its forms. I love the fact that Commander Kirk was on other planets holding actual material that was part of the war in Vietnam. That’s the reason this prop has a warm spot in my heart.
Q. How did your Ohio roots contribute to your career?
JZ:
My early life was spent in Warren from birth to the age of about 19. I was always in love with art. I was selling my drawings as early as kindergarten or first grade. I spent my whole youth creating designs mimicking movies and television. Rather than sports, I went to the state science fair with my first robot. I had this love of science.
My grandparents owned the M&M sandwich shop in Warren. It was one of the weirdest restaurants on earth because my grandfather had some kind of deal to enable him to have pinball-like gambling machines. When they were serviced, the gears and wire harnesses looked like a road map; the shellac had a smell that I thought was incredible. Then, in my first year at Kent State University, I worked at U.S. Steel.
Those machines, working at the mill, plus being in love with the future affected me. Now, my fine art sculptures are of aluminum and steel, about 4 feet by 3 feet by 10 inches thick like those pinball machines.
Q. What advice would you give to a young person interested in pursuing a career in your field?
JZ:
I would hesitate to steer anyone to a career in designing or building props. It’s not like it was when I started out in the ‘70s and ‘80s. You have to be a businessperson. For me, I always wanted to make sure we had a great time at work.
Props can now be made for a particular movie rather than made to rent for multiple film properties. To have a whole company dedicated to renting props wouldn’t last too long.
Like anything, you also need a good deal of luck. We had a hard time right out of the gate, but one of the set decorators in Hollywood gave me direction on navigating the film production environment that led to my success.
You can have all the best intentions, but the world is built the way it is, and designing props is very tough now. But if you work hard and you are talented, you can succeed.