Richard A. Baker (born December 8, 1950), known professionally as Rick Baker, is an American retired special make-up effects creator and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. He is mostly known for his creature designs and effects. Baker won the

Academy Award for Best Makeup The Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling is the Academy Award given to the best achievement in makeup and hairstyling for film. Traditionally, three films have been nominated each year with exceptions in the early 1980s and 2002 when the ...

a record seven times from a record eleven nominations, beginning when he won the inaugural award for the 1981

horror comedy Comedy horror, also known as horror comedy, is a literary, television, and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as able to be categorized under three types: "black comedy, parody and sp ...

film '' An American Werewolf in London''.

Early life

Baker was born in Binghamton, New York, to Doris ( née Hamlin), a bank teller, and Ralph B. Baker, a professional artist. He and his family moved to

Covina, California Covina is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States, about east of downtown Los Angeles, in the San Gabriel Valley. The population was 51,268 according to the 2020 census, up from 47,796 at the 201 ...

when he was less than one year old.

Career

As a teenager, 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'' (1972), directed by William Malone. Baker's first professional job was as an assistant to

prosthetic makeup Prosthetic makeup also called special make-up effects and FX prosthesis) is the process of using prosthetic sculpting, molding and casting techniques to create advanced cosmetic effects. Prosthetic makeup goes back to the beginning of film maki ...

effects veteran Dick Smith on the 1973 film ''

The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty ...

''. While working on ''The Exorcist'', Baker was hired by director

Larry Cohen Lawrence George Cohen (July 15, 1936 – March 23, 2019) was an American screenwriter, producer, and director of film and television, best known as an author of horror and science fiction films — often containing police procedural and ...

to design and create a

mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It ...

infant for Cohen's 1974 film '' It's Alive''. At the

54th Academy Awards The 54th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 1981 and took place on March 29, 1982, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m ...

, Baker received the inaugural

for his work on '' An American Werewolf in London'' (1981). Subsequently, he has been nominated for Best Makeup ten more times, winning on seven occasions, both records in his field. Baker also created the

werecat A werecat (also written in a hyphenated form as were-cat) is an analog to "werewolf" for a feline therianthropic creature. Etymology Ailuranthropy comes from the Greek root words ''ailouros'' meaning "cat",< and ''anthropos'', meaning "human" ...

creature

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

transforms into in the music video '' Thriller'' (1983). Rick Baker at Saturn Awards (cropped)

In 2008, he was awarded a

Doctorate of Humane Letters The degree of Doctor of Humane Letters (; DHumLitt; DHL; or LHD) is an honorary degree awarded to those who have distinguished themselves through humanitarian and philanthropic contributions to society. The criteria for awarding the degree differ ...

from the

Academy of Art University The Academy of Art University (AAU or ART U), formerly Academy of Art College and Richard Stephens Academy of Art, is a private for-profit art school in San Francisco, California. It was founded as the Academy of Advertising Art by Richard S. ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. Baker also contributes commentaries to the

web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single in ...

Trailers from Hell ''Trailers from Hell'' (branded as ''Trailers from Hell!'') is a web series in which filmmakers discuss and promote individual movies through commenting on their trailers. While the series emphasizes horror, science fiction, fantasy, cult, and expl ...

'' for

trailers Trailer may refer to: a Transportation * Trailer (vehicle), an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle ** Bicycle trailer, a wheeled frame for hitching to a bicycle to tow cargo or passengers ** Full-trailer ** Semi-trailer **Horse trail ...

about horror and science fiction films. Baker claims that his work on '' Harry and the Hendersons'' (1987) is one of his proudest achievements, for which he won his second Oscar. On October 3, 2009, he received the Jack Pierce Lifetime Achievement Award at the Chiller-Eyegore Awards. On November 30, 2012, Baker received the 2485th star of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The star is located in front of the Guinness World Records Museum. On May 28, 2015, Baker announced his retirement, saying: "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." In 2018, Baker was approached by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

, due to his daughter Veronica working for them at the time, if he would be interested in creating a collectible display bust for them. He agreed with the following terms that he would be left alone with total creative freedom and DC accepted them. Baker, with the aide of his long time mold maker Rob Freitas, created a bust of

The Joker The Joker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, and first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book '' Batman'' on April 25, 1 ...

Acting roles

Baker played the

title role The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...

in the 1976 remake of ''King Kong''. In the 2005 remake, he had a cameo as the pilot and gunner (with director Peter Jackson) who shot down Kong. He has also made cameo appearances in:

's music video '' Thriller'' (1983) as "Zombie Opening the Crypt"; '' Into the Night'' (1985) as a drug dealer with a business card; ''

Men in Black II ''Men in Black II'' (stylized as ''MIIB'') is a 2002 American science fiction action comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld from a screenplay by Robert Gordon and Barry Fanaro. It is the second film in the original trilogy and a sequel to ''M ...

'' (2002) as "MIB Passport Control Agent", an MIB agent helping provide aliens with disguises; ''

Men in Black 3 ''Men in Black 3'' (stylized as ''MIB³'') is a 2012 American science fiction action comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and starring Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, and Josh Brolin. It is the third installment in the ''Men in Black'' film se ...

'' (2012) as "Brain Alien"; '' The Wolfman'' (2010) as "Gypsy Man / First Killed"; and ''

Rings Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

'' (2017) as a flea market vendor.

Personal life

Baker is married; he was previously married to Elaine Melba Parkyn for ten years. He met his second wife, hairstylist Silvia Abascal, while they were both working on '' Into the Night'' (1985). Baker also has two daughters, Rebecca and Veronica.

Selected filmography

* '' Octaman'' (1971) (Octaman costume; co-created with Doug Beswick) * ''

The Thing with Two Heads ''The Thing with Two Heads'' is a 1972 American blaxploitation science fiction comedy film directed by Lee Frost and starring Ray Milland, Rosey Grier, Don Marshall, Roger Perry, Kathy Baumann, and Chelsea Brown. Plot Dr. Maxwell Kirshner ( ...

'' (1972) (special effects - uncredited) * '' Schlock'' (1973) (makeup artist / actor) * ''

'' (1973) (special effects assistant - uncredited) * '' It's Alive'' (1974) (makeup artist / special makeup effects artist - uncredited) * ''

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman ''The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman'' is a 1971 novel by Ernest J. Gaines. The story depicts the struggles of African Americans as seen through the eyes of the narrator, a woman named Jane Pittman. She tells of the major events of her life f ...

'' (1974) (makeup creator: Miss Tyson) * ''

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

'' (1976) (makeup effects - uncredited / special contributions: Kong / actor) * ''

Track of the Moon Beast ''Track of the Moon Beast'' is a 1976 horror film directed by Richard Ashe and written by Bill Finger and Charles Sinclair. It concerns a mineralogist who is hit in the head by a meteor, which subsequently turns him in to a vicious, reptilian cre ...

'' (1976) (makeup artist) * ''

Squirm ''Squirm'' is a 1976 American natural horror film written and directed by Jeff Lieberman, starring Don Scardino, Patricia Pearcy, R. A. Dow, Jean Sullivan, Peter MacLean, Fran Higgins and William Newman. The film takes place in the fictiona ...

'' (1976) (makeup designer) * ''

The Incredible Melting Man ''The Incredible Melting Man'' is a 1977 American Science fiction film, science fiction horror film directed and written by William Sachs. The plot concerns an astronaut whose body begins to melt after he is exposed to radiation during a space fl ...

'' (1977) (special makeup effects / actor) * '' Star Wars'' (1977) (makeup: second unit) * '' The Fury'' (1978) (special makeup effects) * ''

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 stor ...

'' (1980) (makeup artist - uncredited) * '' An American Werewolf in London'' (1981) (special makeup effects designer and creator) * ''

The Howling ''The Howling'' is a 1977 horror novel by Gary Brandner. It was the inspiration for the movie ''The Howling'' (1981), although the plot of the movie was only vaguely similar to that of the book. Brandner published two sequels to the novel, '' T ...

'' (1981) (special makeup effects consultant) * ''

The Funhouse ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (1981) (special makeup design) * ''

The Incredible Shrinking Woman ''The Incredible Shrinking Woman'' is a 1981 American science-fiction comedy film directed by Joel Schumacher (in his theatrical directing debut), written by Jane Wagner and starring Lily Tomlin, Charles Grodin, Ned Beatty, John Glover, and Eli ...

'' (1981) (creator and designer: Sidney / makeup effects / actor) * ''

Videodrome ''Videodrome'' is a 1983 Canadian science fiction body horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring James Woods, Sonja Smits, and Debbie Harry. Set in Toronto during the early 1980s, it follows the CEO of a small UHF televis ...

'' (1983) (special makeup effects designer) * '' Thriller'' (1983) (special makeup effects designer and creator / actor) * '' Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes'' (1984) (special makeup effects) * '' Starman'' (1984) (Starman transformation) * '' Into the Night'' (1985) (actor) * ''

My Science Project ''My Science Project'' is a 1985 American teen science fiction comedy film directed by Jonathan R. Betuel. It followed on heels of other teen sci-fi/comedy films released the same year, such as ''Back to the Future'', ''Real Genius'', and '' Weird ...

'' (1985) (special makeup effects artist - uncredited) * ''

Captain EO ''Captain EO'' is a 1986 American 3D science fiction short film shown at Disney theme parks from 1986 through 1998. The movie stars Michael Jackson, was written by George Lucas, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola (who came up with the name "C ...

'' (1986) (special makeup effects) * '' Ratboy'' (1986) (designer: Ratboy) * '' Harry and the Hendersons'' (1987) (creature designer: Harry / puppeteer / makeup artist) * ''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine ...

'' (1987–89) (designer and creator) * ''

Werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely ...

'' (1987–88) (werewolf characters designer) * ''

Coming to America ''Coming to America'' is a 1988 American romantic comedy film directed by John Landis and based on a story originally created by Eddie Murphy, who also stars in the lead role. The film also co-stars Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, Shari Hea ...

'' (1988) (special makeup effects) * ''

Gorillas in the Mist ''Gorillas in the Mist'' is a 1988 American drama film directed by Michael Apted and starring Sigourney Weaver as the naturalist Dian Fossey. It tells the story of her work in Rwanda with mountain gorillas and was nominated for five Academy Aw ...

'' (1988) (special makeup effects / associate producer) * '' Missing Link'' (1988) (special makeup effects) * '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990) (special effects supervisor / co-producer) * ''

The Rocketeer The Rocketeer is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books originally published by Pacific Comics. Created by writer/artist Dave Stevens, the character first appeared in 1982 and is an homage to the Saturday matinee serial heroes ...

'' (1991) (makeup creator: Lothar) * ''

Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

'' (1994) (special makeup effects) * ''

Ed Wood Edward Davis Wood Jr. (October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978) was an American filmmaker, actor, and pulp novel author. In the 1950s, Wood directed several low-budget science fiction, crime and horror films that later became cult cla ...

'' (1994) (makeup creator:

Bela Lugosi Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), known professionally as Bela Lugosi (; ), was a Hungarian and American actor best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 horror classic ''Dracula'', Ygor in ''S ...

/ makeup designer:

) * ''

Batman Forever ''Batman Forever'' (on-screen title is simply ''Forever'') is a 1995 American superhero film directed by Joel Schumacher and produced by Tim Burton, based on the DC Comics character Batman by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. The third installment o ...

'' (1995) (special makeup designer and creator) * ''

The Nutty Professor The Nutty Professor may refer to: * ''The Nutty Professor'' (1963 film), directed by and starring Jerry Lewis * ''The Nutty Professor'' (1996 film), directed by Tom Shadyac and starring Eddie Murphy ** ''The Nutty Professor'' (soundtrack), sound ...

'' (1996) (special makeup effects) * ''

The Frighteners ''The Frighteners'' is a 1996 supernatural comedy horror film directed by Peter Jackson and co-written with Fran Walsh. The film stars Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, Peter Dobson, John Astin, Dee Wallace Stone, Jeffrey Combs, R. Lee Ermey an ...

'' (1996) (special makeup artist: The Judge) * '' Escape from L.A.'' (1996) (special makeup effects) * '' Ghosts'' (1997) (special makeup effects artist) * ''

Men in Black In popular culture and UFO conspiracy theories, men in black (MIB) are purported men dressed in black suits who claim to be quasi- government agents, who harass, threaten, or sometimes even assassinate unidentified flying object (UFO) witnesse ...

'' (1997) (alien makeup effects / special makeup effects artist) * '' Critical Care'' (1997) (special makeup effects: Mr. Brooks) * '' Mighty Joe Young'' (1998) (special makeup effects / creature designer and producer: Mighty Joe Young) * '' Psycho'' (1998) (special makeup effects artist) * ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

'' (1999) (special makeup effects) * ''

Wild Wild West ''Wild Wild West'' is a 1999 American steampunk Western film co-produced and directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by S. S. Wilson and Brent Maddock alongside Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, from a story penned by brothers Jim and John ...

'' (1999) (special makeup effects) * ''

How the Grinch Stole Christmas ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'' is a Christmas children's story by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel written in rhymed verse with illustrations by the author. It follows the Grinch, a grouchy, solitary creature who tries to cancel Christmas by st ...

'' (2000) (special makeup effects / actor) * '' Nutty Professor II: The Klumps'' (2000) (special makeup effects) * ''

Planet of the Apes ''Planet of the Apes'' is an American science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a world in which humans and intelligent apes clash for control. The franchise is based on Frenc ...

'' (2001) (makeup artist / special makeup effects designer and creator / actor) * ''

'' (2002) (alien makeup effects / special makeup effects artist - uncredited / actor) * '' The Ring'' (2002) (special makeup effects artist) * ''

The Haunted Mansion The Haunted Mansion is a dark ride attraction located at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, and Tokyo Disneyland. The haunted house attraction features a ride-through tour in Omnimover vehicles called "Doom Buggies", and a walk-through show is display ...

'' (2003) (special makeup effects designer and creator) * ''

Hellboy Hellboy is a fictional superhero created by writer-artist Mike Mignola. The character first appeared in ''San Diego Comic-Con Comics'' #2 (August 1993), and has since appeared in various eponymous miniseries, one-shots and intercompany crossover ...

'' (2004) (makeup consultant: Hellboy / special effects director) * ''

The Ring Two ''The Ring Two'' is a 2005 American supernatural psychological horror film and a sequel to the 2002 film '' The Ring'', which was a remake of the 1998 Japanese film '' Ring''. Hideo Nakata, director of the original Japanese film ''Ring'', on wh ...

'' (2005) (special makeup effects artist) * ''

'' (2005) (actor) * '' Cursed'' (2005) (special makeup effects artist / special makeup effects creator / special makeup effects designer) * '' X-Men: The Last Stand'' (2006) (special makeup effects consultant) * '' Click'' (2006) (special age makeup artist - uncredited / special makeup effects) * '' Enchanted'' (2007) (special makeup effects artist) * ''

Norbit In electronics, the NORBIT family of modules is a very early form (since 1960) of digital logic developed by Philips (and also provided through and Mullard) that uses modules containing discrete components to build logic function blocks in re ...

'' (2007) (special makeup effects artist) * ''

Tropic Thunder ''Tropic Thunder'' is a 2008 satirical action comedy film directed by Ben Stiller, who wrote the screenplay with Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen. The film stars Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Jay Baruchel, and Brandon T. Jackson as a ...

'' (2008) (makeup designer: Mr. Downey Jr.) * '' The Wolfman'' (2010) (special makeup effects / actor) * '' Tron: Legacy'' (2010) (special makeup effects artist) * ''

'' (2012) (alien makeup effects / actor) * ''

Maleficent Maleficent ( or ) is a fictional character who appears as the main antagonist in Walt Disney Productions' 16th animated feature film, ''Sleeping Beauty'' (1959). She is represented as an evil fairy and the self-proclaimed " Mistress of All Evil ...

'' (2014) (makeup designer:

) * ''

'' (2017) (actor)

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

BAFTA Awards

Saturn Awards The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...

Other awards

* 2485th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame * Time Machine Award at the 2015 Sitges Film Festival *

from the

* Jack Pierce Lifetime Achievement Award at the Chiller-Eyegore Awards * Inducted in the Monster Kid Hall of Fame at the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards * Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Makeup for ''

'' (1974)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Rick 1950 births Living people Academy of Art University alumni American make-up artists Artists from Binghamton, New York Best Makeup Academy Award winners Best Makeup BAFTA Award winners People from Binghamton, New York People from Covina, California Special effects people