Quebec 3D animation pioneer Daniel Langlois has died with his partner in a car accident on the Caribbean island of Dominica, the artist’s former publicist said on Sunday.
“Three people have been arrested and an investigation is underway” on the eastern Caribbean island, where Langlois and partner Dominique Marchand ran a luxury hotel, Sylvie Deslauriers told AFP in an email.
Langlois had been reported missing for several days. Police said Saturday that the couple were identified as the occupants of a vehicle found burnt a day earlier near the town of Gallion, in the south of the small island, local media reported.
Canada’s Global Affairs department said it was “aware of the presumed death of two Canadian citizens in Dominica”, without confirming their identities.
“Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of the citizens concerned” and our agents are “in contact with local authorities to obtain additional information”, added department spokeswoman Marilyne Guevremont.
Langlois made a fortune with Softimage, a 3D animation firm that produced software used in Hollywood blockbusters like “Jurassic Park,” “Titanic,” “The Matrix,” and the “Harry Potter” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchises.
After founding the firm in 1986, Langlois sold the company to Microsoft in 1994 but stayed on as president until 1998, according to his foundation’s website.
In 1997, Langlois received a Scientific and Technical Oscar from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the website said.
“His legacy reflects his innovative spirit,” said Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge on social media platform X, calling the Quebecer “a visionary in digital technologies and cinema.”
In recent years, Langlois and his partner created a luxury hotel in Dominica, where the government recently awarded him a prize for his contribution to the island’s development.