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Stuart Freeborn (5 September 1914 – 5 February 2013) was a British motion picture
make-up artist A make-up artist, also called a makeup artist, and often shortened to MUA, is an artist whose medium is the human body, applying makeup and prosthetics on others for theatre, television, film, fashion, magazines and other similar productions incl ...
. He has been referred to as the "grandfather of modern make-up design" and is perhaps best known for his work on the original '' Star Wars'' trilogy, most notably the design and fabrication of
Yoda Yoda () is a fictional character in the '' Star Wars'' universe, first appearing in the 1980 film ''The Empire Strikes Back''. He is a small, green humanoid alien who is powerful with the Force and is a leading member of the Jedi Order unti ...
."Stuart Freeborn, Yoda's maker, dies"
The Guardian. 7 February 2013. Retrieved 8 February 2013.


Career

Freeborn's earliest work in the film industry was designing the controversial hair and make-up worn by
Alec Guinness Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. After an early career on the stage, Guinness was featured in several of the Ealing comedies, including ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (19 ...
, as Fagin, in ''
Oliver Twist ''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', Charles Dickens's second novel, was published as a serial from 1837 to 1839, and as a three-volume book in 1838. Born in a workhouse, the orphan Oliver Twist is bound into apprenticeship with a ...
''. Freeborn's most famous work is creating the make-up for all of the characters in the ''Star Wars'' trilogy, including
Chewbacca Chewbacca ( ), nicknamed "Chewie", is a fictional character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise. He is a Wookiee, a tall, hirsute, bipedal, intelligent species originating from the fictional planet of Kashyyyk. Chewbacca is the loyal friend and fir ...
and
Yoda Yoda () is a fictional character in the '' Star Wars'' universe, first appearing in the 1980 film ''The Empire Strikes Back''. He is a small, green humanoid alien who is powerful with the Force and is a leading member of the Jedi Order unti ...
; he based Yoda on his own face and partly on
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
."British make-up artist Stuart Freeborn, who created Yoda, dies aged 98"
The Times. Retrieved 7 February 2013
He oversaw the design of the original
Jabba the Hutt Jabba Desilijic Tiure, more commonly known as Jabba the Hutt, is a Character (arts), fictional character and minor antagonist in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Created by George Lucas, Jabba is voiced by Larry Ward with several puppeteers inside a ...
puppet used in ''
Return of the Jedi ''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas, who w ...
'' as well as the creation of the
Ewoks The Ewoks (singular: Ewok) are a fictional species of small, furry, mammaloid, bipeds in the ''Star Wars'' universe. They inhabit the forest moon of Endor and live in arboreal huts and other simple dwellings, being seen as primitive in com ...
. Freeborn was also the make-up artist on
Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...
's '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'', where he created the humans/apes for the "Dawn of Man" sequence. He worked on Kubrick's '' Dr. Strangelove'', handling
Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show'', featured on a number of hit comic songs ...
' multiple lead roles. He also worked with Sellers in several other films, including '' Heavens Above!'', '' Mr. Topaze'', ''
The Mouse that Roared ''The Mouse That Roared'' is a 1955 satirical novel by Irish-American writer Leonard Wibberley, which launched a series of satirical books about an imaginary country in Europe called the Duchy of Grand Fenwick. Wibberley used the premise to m ...
'', and '' Soft Beds, Hard Battles'' and he was the make-up visual supervisor in the Superman films. His wife Kay assisted her husband on several occasions; their son Graham was also a prolific make-up artist before his death in 1986. In the '' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' DVD, in one of the web documentaries, he was awarded a statue by the team at
Lucasfilm Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is a business segment of The Walt Disney Company. The studio is best known for creating and producing the '' Star Wars'' and ...
.


Personal life

Freeborn died on 5 February 2013 at the age of 98 in London. His wife Kay died in 2012. Freeborn's three sons—Roger, Ray and Graham—also predeceased him. Freeborn had eight grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.


Selected filmography

* '' The Thief of Bagdad'' (1940, uncredited makeup artist) * ''
Oliver Twist ''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', Charles Dickens's second novel, was published as a serial from 1837 to 1839, and as a three-volume book in 1838. Born in a workhouse, the orphan Oliver Twist is bound into apprenticeship with a ...
'' (1948, makeup artist – as Stuart Freebourne) * ''
The Bridge on the River Kwai ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' is a 1957 epic film, epic war film directed by David Lean and based on the The Bridge over the River Kwai, 1952 novel written by Pierre Boulle. Although the film uses the historical setting of the construction of ...
'' (1957, makeup artist) * ''
A King in New York ''A King in New York'' is a 1957 British comedy film directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin in his last leading role, which co-stars, among others, his young son Michael. The film presents a satirical view of the McCarthy communist-hunt era ...
'' (1957, makeup artist) * '' Dr. Strangelove'' (1964, makeup artist – as Stewart Freeborn) * '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' (1968, makeup) * ''
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatu ...
'' (1972, makeup artist) * ''
The Omen ''The Omen'' is a 1976 supernatural horror film directed by Richard Donner and written by David Seltzer. An international co-production of the United Kingdom and the United States, it stars Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, David Warner, Harvey Spence ...
'' (1976, chief makeup artist) * '' Star Wars'' ** '' Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope'' (1977, makeup supervisor and uncredited creature design supervisor) ** ''
The Empire Strikes Back ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based on a sto ...
'' (1980, makeup and special creature designer) ** ''
Return of the Jedi ''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas, who w ...
'' (1983, makeup designer and creature design) * ''
Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publish ...
'' **''
Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publish ...
'' (1978, creative supervisor of makeup & special visuals) **''
Superman II ''Superman II'' is a 1980 superhero film directed by Richard Lester and written by Mario Puzo and David and Leslie Newman from a story by Puzo based on the DC Comics character Superman. It is the second installment in the ''Superman'' film seri ...
'' (1980, makeup artist) **''
Superman III ''Superman III'' is a 1983 superhero film directed by Richard Lester from a screenplay by David Newman and Leslie Newman based on the DC Comics character Superman. It is the third installment in the ''Superman'' film series and a sequel to ''Su ...
'' (1983, makeup artist) **'' Superman IV: The Quest for Peace'' (1987, makeup supervisor)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Freeborn, Stuart 1914 births 2013 deaths British make-up artists People from Leytonstone Film people from London