Joe Beaudoin Jr.: initial work

2026-07-12T00:47:35Z

initial work

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{{Crew Data
| image=
| size= 200px
| role= Mechanical special effects
| series= TOS
| born_month= 11
| born_day= 13
| born_year= 1914
| death_month= 8
| death_day= 5
| death_year= 2005
| nationality= US
| imdb= 0331571
| sortkey= Goss, Joseph
}}

'''Joe Goss''' (born '''Joseph Franklin Goss'''; 13 November 1914―5 August 2005) was an American special effects technician who worked on the special effects crew of the original ''[[w:Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]]'' pilot, "[[Saga of a Star World]]," for which he shared a Primetime Emmy Award.<ref group="external" name="tvacademy_dykstra_edlund_goss_emmy_1979_win">{{cite web|url=https://www.televisionacademy.com/awards/nominees-winners/1979/outstanding-achievement-in-any-area-of-creative-technical-crafts#:~:text=John%20Dykstra%20Richard%20Edlund%20Joseph%20Goss|title=Outstanding Individual Achievement - Creative Technical Crafts 1979|publisher=Television Academy|accessdate=11 July 2026}}</ref>

== Career ==
Goss received a shared "special effects" screen credit on both the three-hour television version of the ''Battlestar Galactica'' pilot, "Saga of a Star World," and the edited theatrical feature released under the same title, alongside fellow special effects technician [[Karl G. Miller]].<ref group="external" name="imdb_goss_fullcredits_saga_star_world_special_effects">{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0519749/fullcredits/#:~:text=Joe%20Goss|title="Battlestar Galactica" Saga of a Star World (TV Episode 1978) - Full cast & crew|publisher=IMDb|accessdate=10 July 2026}}</ref>

For his work on "Saga of a Star World," Goss shared the 1979 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Creative Technical Crafts with [[John Dykstra]] and director of miniature photography [[Richard Edlund]].<ref group="external" name="tvacademy_dykstra_edlund_goss_emmy_1979_win"/> IMDb's awards record for the episode credits the win specifically to Goss's mechanical special effects work, as distinct from Dykstra's special effects coordination and Edlund's miniature photography.<ref group="external" name="imdb_goss_awards_page_emmy_1979">{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076984/awards/#:~:text=Joe%20Goss%20%28mechanical%20special%20effects%29|title=Battlestar Galactica (TV Series 1978–1979) - Awards|publisher=IMDb|accessdate=10 July 2026}}</ref>

According to his obituary, Goss worked in special effects for Universal Studio until his retirement.<ref group="external" name="beaudoin_reportertimes_goss_obituary_universal_career">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-reporter-times-obituary-for-joseph-f/163611942/#:~:text=Goss%20worked%20in%20special%20effects%20for%20Universal%20Studio%20until%20his%20retirement|title=Joseph Goss, 91|newspaper=The Reporter-Times|location=Martinsville, Indiana|date=9 August 2005|page=2|url-access=subscription|via=Newspapers.com|accessdate=11 July 2026}}</ref> Goss's other credited special effects work included the disaster film ''[[w:The Concorde... Airport '79|The Concorde... Airport '79]]'' (1979), on which he again received a "special effects" screen credit.<ref group="external" name="imdb_goss_concorde_airport79_known_for">{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0331571/#:~:text=The%20Concorde...%20Airport%20%2779|title=Joe Goss|publisher=IMDb|accessdate=10 July 2026}}</ref><ref group="external" name="tmdb_concorde_airport79_castcrew_special_effects">{{cite web|url=https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/29723-the-concorde-airport-79/cast?language=en-US#:~:text=Joe%20Goss%20%C2%B7%20Special%20Effects|title=The Concorde... Airport '79 (1979) - Cast & Crew|publisher=The Movie Database|accessdate=10 July 2026}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Born on November 13, 1914, in Ray Township, Morgan County, Indiana,<ref name="beaudoin_reportertimes_goss_obituary_birthplace">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-reporter-times-obituary-for-joseph-f/163611942/#:~:text=born%20Nov.%2013%2C%201914%2C%20in%20Morgan%20County|title=Joseph Goss, 91|newspaper=The Reporter-Times|location=Martinsville, Indiana|date=9 August 2005|page=2|url-access=subscription|via=Newspapers.com|accessdate=11 July 2026}}</ref> Goss was the son of Frederick William Goss (1890–1971) and Maude (Bloucher) Goss (1891–1972).<ref group="external" name="beaudoin_reportertimes_goss_obituary_birthplace"/> He married Dorothy Nell Tritt (1926–1987) on July 6, 1945.<ref name="findagrave_goss_memorial_parents_spouse">{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15728530/joseph-franklin-goss|title=Joseph Franklin Goss|publisher=Find a Grave|accessdate=11 July 2026}}</ref> She predeceased him.<ref group="external" name="beaudoin_reportertimes_goss_obituary_marriage">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-reporter-times-obituary-for-joseph-f/163611942/#:~:text=widower%20of%20Dorothy%20Nell%20Tritt%2C%20whom%20he%20married%20July%206%2C%201945|title=Joseph Goss, 91|newspaper=The Reporter-Times|location=Martinsville, Indiana|date=9 August 2005|page=2|url-access=subscription|via=Newspapers.com|accessdate=11 July 2026}}</ref> At the time of his death he was survived by a daughter, Linda M. Hunt of California, and two sisters, Bertha Haggard of Brownsburg, Indiana, and Geraldine Bastin of Martinsville, Indiana. He was also survived by four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.<ref group="external" name="beaudoin_reportertimes_goss_obituary_survivors">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-reporter-times-obituary-for-joseph-f/163611942/#:~:text=Survivors%20include%20a%20daughter%2C%20Linda%20M.%20Hunt|title=Joseph Goss, 91|newspaper=The Reporter-Times|location=Martinsville, Indiana|date=9 August 2005|page=2|url-access=subscription|via=Newspapers.com|accessdate=11 July 2026}}</ref> Four brothers, Lafayette, Frederick "Bud," Dale, and John Goss, and a sister, Helen Frick, preceded him in death.<ref group="external" name="beaudoin_reportertimes_goss_obituary_siblings">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-reporter-times-obituary-for-joseph-f/163611942/#:~:text=Four%20brothers%2C%20Lafayette%2C%20Frederick%20%22Bud%2C%22%20Dale%20and%20John%20Goss|title=Joseph Goss, 91|newspaper=The Reporter-Times|location=Martinsville, Indiana|date=9 August 2005|page=2|url-access=subscription|via=Newspapers.com|accessdate=11 July 2026}}</ref>

Among those the obituary names as having predeceased Goss, it lists sister Helen Gloe (Goss) Frick (1917–1980), brother Fred W. Goss (1923–1996), who appears to be the "Frederick 'Bud'" named in the obituary, and brother Dennis Dale Goss (1930–1980).<ref group="external" name="findagrave_goss_memorial_siblings">{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15728530/joseph-franklin-goss|title=Joseph Franklin Goss|publisher=Find a Grave|accessdate=11 July 2026}}</ref> Of the two sisters the obituary names as surviving him in 2005, Bertha Chloe (Goss) Haggard died later that same year (1917–2005) and Geraldine (Goss) Bastin as living until 2025 (1926–2025).<ref group="external" name="findagrave_goss_memorial_siblings"/>

Goss died on August 5, 2005, in North Hollywood, California.<ref group="external" name="beaudoin_reportertimes_goss_obituary_death_place">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-reporter-times-obituary-for-joseph-f/163611942/#:~:text=Joseph%20Franklin%20Goss%2C%2091%2C%20North%20Hollywood%2C%20Calif.|title=Joseph Goss, 91|newspaper=The Reporter-Times|location=Martinsville, Indiana|date=9 August 2005|page=2|url-access=subscription|via=Newspapers.com|accessdate=11 July 2026}}</ref> Services were held on August 11, 2005, at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills.<ref group="external" name="beaudoin_reportertimes_goss_obituary_services">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-reporter-times-obituary-for-joseph-f/163611942/#:~:text=Services%20will%20be%2011%20a.m.%20Thursday%2C%20Aug.%2011%2C%202005%2C%20at%20Forest%20Lawn%20Hollywood%20Hills|title=Joseph Goss, 91|newspaper=The Reporter-Times|location=Martinsville, Indiana|date=9 August 2005|page=2|url-access=subscription|via=Newspapers.com|accessdate=11 July 2026}}</ref> He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles County, California.<ref group="external" name="findagrave_goss_memorial_burial">{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15728530/joseph-franklin-goss|title=Joseph Franklin Goss|publisher=Find a Grave|accessdate=11 July 2026}}</ref>

== Notes ==
Goss's obituary lists his age at death as 91.<ref group="external" name="beaudoin_reportertimes_goss_obituary_death_place"/> Based on the birth and death dates given in the same obituary, November 13, 1914, to August 5, 2005, he would have been 90 at the time of death, as he had not yet reached his 91st birthday.

The obituary also states that Goss "received an Oscar for his work on the movie ''Battlestar Galactica''."<ref group="external" name="beaudoin_reportertimes_goss_obituary_oscar_error">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-reporter-times-obituary-for-joseph-f/163611942/#:~:text=received%20an%20Oscar%20for%20his%20work%20on%20the%20movie%20Battlestar%20Galactica|title=Joseph Goss, 91|newspaper=The Reporter-Times|location=Martinsville, Indiana|date=9 August 2005|page=2|url-access=subscription|via=Newspapers.com|accessdate=11 July 2026}}</ref> Both the Television Academy and IMDb document this award as a Primetime Emmy, not an Academy Award, shared with John Dykstra and Richard Edlund for the television production of ''Battlestar Galactica''. The obituary's reference to an "Oscar" is not corroborated by either source.<ref group="external" name="tvacademy_dykstra_edlund_goss_emmy_1979_win"/><ref group="external" name="imdb_goss_awards_page_emmy_1979"/> Goss's Find a Grave memorial repeats the same "Oscar" wording found in the obituary, indicating the two accounts share a common source rather than independently corroborating it.<ref group="external" name="findagrave_goss_memorial_parents_spouse"/>

No independent source could be located to confirm additional film or television screen credits for Goss beyond the two titles cited here.

== References ==

=== External Sources ===
{{reflist|group=external}}

Joe Goss - Revision history

Joe Beaudoin Jr.: initial work