- He claimed that he was not aware that his work on "Thunderball" (1965) had earned him an Academy Award nomination. He first learned about it when a friend in the United States informed him that he had won the Oscar.
- Brother of Andy Stears.
- Had a passion for building and flying model aircraft.
- He has two daughters: Janet Stears - started as Special Effects Technician and progressed to Production Coordinator, Writer and Producer. Jacqueline Stears - started as Scenic Artist and now works with Disney in the Immagineering Department.
- John died on April 28th 1999 (on his wife's birthday) of a sudden and immence brain hemorrhage.
- He and his wife started and owned the world renowned "Livny Borzoi Kennels" in England, UK. They produced many Champion dogs world wide.
- His hobbies were vintage bikes and giant scale model making (airplanes).
- Father of Jacqueline Stears and Janet Stears.
- Stears' crew on many of his 007 projects comprised: Frank George (engineer & effects), Bert Luxford (engineer), James Snow (engineer & floor effects), Joe Fitt (prop man & effects), etc.
- Worked on the special effects for Reach for the Sky (The Badar story) produced at J Arthur Rank's Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Bucks and it was from this contact that John joined the Studio as a special effects technician.
- Worked at Shawcraft (Models) Ltd Iver, Bucks, England from 1955.
- John attended Swakelys Secondary Modern school at Ickenham, Middlesex, England from 1945-1949 and was a keen art student.
- Creator of James Bond's Aston Martin DB 5, complete with bullet-proof windows, revolving license plates and forward-firing machine guns.
- Creator of the lightsaber, Luke Skywalker's land speeder, the Death Star, as well as robots C3PO and R2-D2 for "Star Wars".
- Studied at Harrow College of Art and Southall Technical School, prior to taking up a position as a draughtsman with the Air Ministry.
- Served as a dispatch rider during his national service.
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