Rick Baker

Costume & Make-Up · 1.0 popularity

Age

Movies

Born: December 8, 1950
From: 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."

Works

66 films

Men in Black II

20026.4

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

20006.8

Men in Black 3

20126.5

Planet of the Apes

20015.8

Michael Jackson's Thriller

19838.3

The Wolfman

20105.9

King Kong

19766.3

V/H/S/Halloween

20256.2

Into the Night

19856.5

The Kentucky Fried Movie

19776.2

The AGFA Mystery Mixtape Vault

2020

The Incredible Shrinking Woman

19815.4

Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects

19949.0

The Perfect Scary Movie

20057.7

Ray Harryhausen: The Early Years Collection

20058.0

King Cohen: The Wild World of Filmmaker Larry Cohen

20186.4

Making Michael Jackson's Thriller

19838.8

Making Apes: The Artists Who Changed Film

20196.8

The Making of Captain EO

19866.9

Creature Designers: The Frankenstein Complex

20157.2

The Thing with Two Heads

19725.0

Monsterland

20096.5

Beware the Moon: Remembering 'An American Werewolf in London'

20096.7

Birth Pains

2015

RKO Production 601: The Making of “Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World”

20088.0

Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man'

19997.3

The Making of Men in Black

19978.3

Fangoria's Weekend of Horrors

19866.7

The Sci-Fi Boys

20067.0

Mummy Dearest: A Horror Tradition Unearthed

20007.0

Videodrome: Forging the New Flesh

20046.7

Metamorphosis of 'Men in Black'

20005.6

Charlie Gemora: Uncredited

2016

Fear and Love: The Story of The Exorcist

2024

It's Alive: The True Story of Frankenstein

19947.7

Teddy Scares

20065.0

Working with a Master: John Landis

2006

He Who Made Monsters: The Life and Art of Jack Pierce

20088.4

Cult of Terror

20176.8

House of Wax: Unlike Anything You've Seen Before!

2013

Old Time Radio: Dance With Me

2026

The Creeper: Rondo Hatton at Universal

2020

AGFA Mystery Mixtape #1

20208.0

The Art of Imagination: A Tribute to Oz

20055.3

A Tribute to the Wizard of Oz

19994.0

I Walked with a Werewolf

2009

Pure in Heart: The Life and Legacy of Lon Chaney, Jr.

20107.0

Gremlins, an american nightmare!

2026

Men in Black II‎: Creature Featurettes

20027.0

King Kong! The Living Legend

1986

Old Time Radio: The Specter of Christmas

2025

The Road to 'Dracula'

19997.5

Ed Wood: Making Bela

20047.8

The 'Frankenstein' Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster

19997.7

The Making of David Cronenberg's Videodrome

19827.3

She's Alive! Creating 'The Bride of Frankenstein'

19997.8

Keep the Gaslight Burning

2018

The Scanners Way: Creating the Special Effects in 'Scanners'

20145.2

Tales Beyond Madness

20193.0

The Beast Inside: Creating 'Wolf'

20177.0

MonsterKids: The Impact of Things That Go Bump In The Night

2017

The Night Turkey

1973

The Wolf Man: From Ancient Curse to Modern Myth

20107.0

Rick Baker: Alien Maker

2002

Old Time Radio: Your Move

2023

Making an American Werewolf in London

1981