John Zabrucky
John Zabrucky is an American prop designer and co-founder of Modern Props, Inc., a prop design and rental company that produced and distributed props for film and television productions. Through Modern Props, Zabrucky contributed props to such films as Ghostbusters and RoboCop, as well as films and TV series in the Star Trek franchise. Zabrucky is known for designing a prop apparatus sometimes informally dubbed "the most important device in the universe", due to its appearances in over 100 films and TV series.
Early life and education
Zabrucky was born in Warren, Ohio. His mother was Italian. He attended Turner Junior High School and studied for one year at Youngstown State University. He earned his bachelor's degree at Kent State University and began teaching art classes there, as well as at the University of Akron and the Mansfield Reformatory. Zabrucky won awards from the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Art Directors Club of New York in 1972 and 1974, respectively. Dissatisfied with the graphic design program at KSU that was required for his master's degree, he decided to move to Los Angeles, California, with his then-girlfriend, set decorator Linda DeScenna.Career
1974–1977: Establishing Modern Props, Inc.
After their move to Los Angeles, Zabrucky and DeScenna's relationship ended, though they remained friends. Zabrucky reportedly found himself working "horrible" jobs like assembling scuba diving equipment, and collecting food stamps. After witnessing a prop malfunction while waiting for DeScenna on a Warner Bros. lot one day, he told a producer that he could easily build superior props to the one that malfunctioned; this led to a meeting in which the producer introduced Zabrucky to the prop design and rental business. Zabrucky began building props from home for TV series such as Quark and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. In 1977, with an $18,000 investment from a friend, Zabrucky co-founded Modern Props, Inc. alongside John Mark Robinson and Michael Ladish. That year, the company moved out of Zabrucky's home and into a facility in Inglewood.1979–2000: Success in film and television
The first film that Zabrucky provided props for was Meteor. The following year, he served as art director and casting director for the music video for the Devo song "Whip It". Around that time, Zabrucky shared an apartment in Los Angeles with Devo members Gerald and Bob Casale.Zabrucky designed the communicators and other props seen in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, as well as the eyeball fabrication machine seen in Blade Runner. During the production of the 1984 film Ghostbusters, Zabrucky created a prop device in partnership with an outside fabricator; he presented it to the Ghostbusters propmaster, and the prop became the PKE meter seen in the finished film. Zabrucky also constructed props for Rocky IV ; RoboCop, for which he built a mechanical recharging chair; Back to the Future Part II ; Batman Returns ; Speed ; and Independence Day. By the mid-1990s, Zubrucky oversaw a facility in Culver City with 58 employees.
By 2003, Modern Props was known for supplying props for science fiction productions, as well as modern furniture for productions featuring everyday homes.
2008–2020: Decline and closure of Modern Props
Despite the launching of a satellite office in Vancouver, Modern Props struggled as a result of the Great Recession, during which Zabrucky laid off almost half of his staff and shortened the workweek for the remaining employees. Other challenges included the increased use of computer-generated effects and sets in films and TV series, as well as the popularity of reality television programming, which utilizes few props.Around 2014, he accepted an offer to sell the space in Culver City, and relocated to a facility in San Fernando. Citing the growth of films and TV series being shot outside of California and utilizing CG effects and sets over physical props, Zabrucky decided to close Modern Props in late 2019. By May 2020, he had auctioned off the majority of the furniture and props rented out by Modern Props.