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Computer pioneer Arnold Spielberg, Steven's dad, dies at 103

Computer pioneer Arnold Spielberg, Steven's dad, dies at 103
Posted at 8:31 AM, Aug 27, 2020
and last updated 2020-08-27 08:36:58-04

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Arnold Spielberg, father of director Steven Spielberg and a pioneering computer engineer, has died.

A family statement says Spielberg died Tuesday in Los Angeles at 103.

He co-designed the GE-225 mainframe computer while working for General Electric in the 1950s.

The machine allowed researchers at Dartmouth College to come up with the coding language BASIC, which made personal computers possible.

Spielberg tried to get his son into engineering but said he could tell his heart was in the movies, and he helped him make his first full-length film, “Firelight,” when the future director was 16.