Rick Baker
Costume & Make-Up
- Born:
- 1950-12-08
- Place of birth:
- Binghamton, New York, USA
Biography
Richard A. Baker (born December 8, 1950) is a retired American special make-up effects creator and actor, mostly known for his creature effects and designs. Baker won the Academy Award for Best Makeup a record seven times from a record eleven nominations, beginning when he won the inaugural award for the 1981 film An American Werewolf in London. As a teen, Baker began creating artificial body parts in his own kitchen. He also appeared briefly in the fan production The Night Turkey, a one-hour, black-and-white video parody of The Night Stalker directed by William Malone. Baker's first professional job was as an assistant to prosthetic makeup effects veteran Dick Smith on the 1973 film The Exorcist. While working on The Exorcist, Baker was hired by director Larry Cohen to design and create a mutant infant for Cohen's 1974 film It's Alive. Baker received the inaugural Academy Award for Best Makeup for his work on An American Werewolf in London. He also created the werewolf creature Michael Jackson transforms into in the music video Thriller. Subsequently, Baker has been nominated for the Best Makeup Oscar ten more times, winning on seven occasions, both records in his field. Baker claims that his work on Harry and the Hendersons is one of his proudest achievements.[8] On October 3, 2009, he received the Jack Pierce – Lifetime Achievement Award title of the Chiller-Eyegore Awards.[9] He was awarded a Doctorate of Humane Letters from the Academy of Art University San Francisco in 2008. He also contributes commentaries to the web series Trailers from Hell for trailers about horror and science fiction films. Baker received the 2485th star of the Hollywood Walk of Fame on November 30, 2012. The star is located in front of the Guinness World Records Museum. Baker announced his retirement on May 28, 2015: "First of all, the CG stuff definitely took away the animatronics part of what I do. It's also starting to take away the makeup part. The time is right, I am 64 years old, and the business is crazy right now. I like to do things right, and they wanted cheap and fast. That is not what I want to do, so I just decided it is basically time to get out. I would consider designing and consulting on something, but I don't think I will have a huge working studio anymore."
Known For
Filmography
Gremlins, an american nightmare!
V/H/S/Halloween
Old Time Radio: The Specter of Christmas
Fear and Love: The Story of The Exorcist
Old Time Radio: Your Move
AGFA Mystery Mixtape #1
The AGFA Mystery Mixtape Vault
The Creeper: Rondo Hatton at Universal
Tales Beyond Madness
Making Apes: The Artists Who Changed Film
Keep the Gaslight Burning
DC Daily
King Cohen: The Wild World of Filmmaker Larry Cohen
The Beast Inside: Creating 'Wolf'
Cult of Terror
MonsterKids: The Impact of Things That Go Bump In The Night
Face Off: Game Face
Charlie Gemora: Uncredited
Creature Designers: The Frankenstein Complex
Birth Pains
The Scanners Way: Creating the Special Effects in 'Scanners'
House of Wax: Unlike Anything You've Seen Before!
Men in Black 3
Unchained Reaction
Face Off
The Wolfman
The Wolf Man: From Ancient Curse to Modern Myth
Pure in Heart: The Life and Legacy of Lon Chaney, Jr.
I Walked with a Werewolf
Beware the Moon: Remembering 'An American Werewolf in London'
Monsterland
RKO Production 601: The Making of “Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World”
He Who Made Monsters: The Life and Art of Jack Pierce
Dark Reel
Teddy Scares
Working with a Master: John Landis
The Sci-Fi Boys
The Perfect Scary Movie
The Art of Imagination: A Tribute to Oz
Ray Harryhausen: The Early Years Collection
Ed Wood: Making Bela
Videodrome: Forging the New Flesh
100 Greatest Scary Moments
Rick Baker: Alien Maker
Men in Black II: Creature Featurettes
Men in Black II
Planet of the Apes
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Metamorphosis of 'Men in Black'
Mummy Dearest: A Horror Tradition Unearthed
The Road to 'Dracula'
The 'Frankenstein' Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster
She's Alive! Creating 'The Bride of Frankenstein'
Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man'
A Tribute to the Wizard of Oz
The Making of Men in Black
It's Alive: The True Story of Frankenstein
Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects
Amazing Worlds of Science Fiction and Fantasy
The Making of Captain EO
King Kong! The Living Legend
Fangoria's Weekend of Horrors
Into the Night
Making Michael Jackson's Thriller
Michael Jackson's Thriller
The Making of David Cronenberg's Videodrome
Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Monsters ... But Were Afraid!
Making an American Werewolf in London
The Incredible Shrinking Woman
The Kentucky Fried Movie
King Kong
The Night Turkey
The Thing with Two Heads
Old Time Radio: Dance With Me