Richard Alan "Rick" Baker (born December 8, 1950) is a retired American special make-up effects creator and actor. He is mostly known for his creature designs and effects. Baker has 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 horror comedy film ''

An American Werewolf in London ''An American Werewolf in London'' is a 1981 comedy horror film written and directed by John Landis. An international co-production of the United Kingdom and the United States, the film stars David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne and ...

''.

Early life

Baker was born on December 8, 1950, in

Binghamton, New York Binghamton ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the c ...

, to Doris (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Hamlin), a bank teller, and Ralph B. Baker, a professional artist. He and his family moved to Covina, California 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. Among Baker's first professional jobs was assisting

prosthetic makeup Prosthetic makeup also known as special makeup effects or FX prosthesis, is the process of using prosthetic sculpting, molding and casting techniques to create advanced cosmetic special effects, effects. Prosthetics are used on stage and screen ...

effects veteran Dick Smith on the 1973 film ''

The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin from a screenplay by William Peter Blatty, based on The Exorcist (novel), his 1971 novel. The film stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Jason Miller (play ...

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

Larry Cohen Lawrence George Cohen (July 15, 1936 – March 23, 2019) was an American filmmaker. He originally emerged as the writer of blaxploitation films such as ''Black Caesar (film), Black Caesar'' and ''Hell Up in Harlem'' (both 1973), before becomin ...

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 i ...

infant for Cohen's 1974 film '' It's Alive''. At the 54th Academy Awards, Baker received the inaugural Academy Award for Best Makeup for his work on ''

'' (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 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 Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

transforms into in the music video '' Thriller'' (1983). In 2008, he was awarded a Doctorate of Humane Letters from the Academy of Art University in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. Baker also contributes commentaries to the

web series A web series (also known as webseries, short-form series, and web show) is a series of short scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet (i.e. World Wide Web), which first emerged in the late 1 ...

'' Trailers from Hell'' for trailers 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 Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

. 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, when Baker's daughter Veronica was working at

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

, he was approached by DC to design a collectible display bust. He agreed on the condition of total creative freedom; working with his long-time mold maker Rob Freitas, he created a bust of The Joker.

Acting roles

Baker played the title role in the 1976 remake of ''King Kong''. He had initially only been hired to create an ape suit that would fill in for scenes where it was not practical to use a life-sized mechanical version of Kong that had been designed by Carlo Rambaldi, but problems with Rambaldi's creation resulted in Baker playing Kong on-screen for almost all of the film. In the 2005 remake, he had a cameo as the pilot and gunner (with director

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand filmmaker. He is best known as the director, writer, and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy (2012–2014), both of which ar ...

) 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 based on the Marvel Comics series of a similar name based on the conspiracy theory. Produced by Columbia Pictures and Amblin Entertainment in ass ...

'' (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 based on the comic book series, in turn based on the conspiracy theory. It is the third installment in the ''Men in Black'' film series. Direct ...

'' (2012) as "Brain Alien"; '' The Wolfman'' (2010) as "Gypsy Man / First Killed"; ''The Strain'' as a convenience store customer (2014, Episode 8, uncredited) and '' Rings'' (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 and Abascal had their first daughter 1989 and their second in 1993.

Selected filmography

* '' Octaman'' (1971) (Octaman costume; co-created with Doug Beswick) * '' The Thing with Two Heads'' (1972) (special effects - uncredited) * '' Schlock'' (1973) (makeup artist / actor) * '' Live and Let Die'' (1973) (makeup artist - inflated Kananga, dummy Samedi, Mr Big - uncredited) * ''

'' (1973) (special effects assistant - uncredited) * '' It's Alive'' (1974) (makeup artist / special makeup effects artist - uncredited) * '' The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman'' (1974) (makeup creator: Miss Tyson) * ''

King Kong King Kong, also referred to simply as Kong, is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. The character has since become an international pop culture icon,Erb, Cynthia, 1998, ''Tracking Kin ...

'' (1976) (makeup effects - uncredited / special contributions: Kong / actor) * '' Track of the Moon Beast'' (1976) (makeup artist) * '' Squirm'' (1976) (makeup designer) * '' The Incredible Melting Man'' (1977) (special makeup effects / actor) * ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

'' (1977) (makeup: second unit) * '' The Fury'' (1978) (special makeup effects) * '' The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) (makeup artist - uncredited) * ''

'' (1981) (special makeup effects designer and creator) * '' The Howling'' (1981) (special makeup effects consultant) * '' The Funhouse'' (1981) (special makeup design) * '' The Incredible Shrinking Woman'' (1981) (creator and designer: Sidney / makeup effects / actor) * '' Videodrome'' (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'' (1985) (special makeup effects artist - uncredited) * '' Captain EO'' (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" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

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

Werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshifting, shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a Shapeshifting, therianthropic Hybrid beasts in folklore, hybrid wol ...

'' (1987–88) (werewolf characters designer) * '' Coming to America'' (1988) (special makeup effects) * ''

Gorillas in the Mist ''Gorillas in the Mist'' is a 1988 American biographical drama film directed by Michael Apted from a screenplay by Anna Hamilton Phelan and a story by Phelan and Tab Murphy. The film is based on a book of the same name by Dian Fossey and fr ...

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

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

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

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

'' (1994) (makeup creator:

Bela Lugosi Blaskó Béla Ferenc Dezső (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), better known by the stage name Bela Lugosi ( ; ), was a Hungarian–American actor. He was best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the horror film classic Dracula (19 ...

/ makeup designer:

) * '' Batman Forever'' (1995) (special makeup designer and creator) * '' The Nutty Professor'' (1996) (special makeup effects) * '' The Frighteners'' (1996) (special makeup artist: The Judge) * '' Escape from L.A.'' (1996) (special makeup effects) * ''

Ghosts In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

'' (1997) (special makeup effects artist) * ''

Men in Black In popular culture and UFO conspiracy theories, men in black (MIB) are government agents dressed in dark suits, who question, interrogate, harass, and threaten unidentified flying object (UFO) witnesses to keep them silent about what they have ...

'' (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, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' (1999) (special makeup effects) * '' Wild Wild West'' (1999) (special makeup effects) * '' How the Grinch Stole Christmas'' (2000) (special makeup effects / actor) * '' Nutty Professor II: The Klumps'' (2000) (special makeup effects) * ''

Planet of the Apes ''Planet of the Apes'' is a science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic world in which humans and intelligent apes c ...

'' (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, 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 s ...

'' (2003) (special makeup effects designer and creator) * '' Hellboy'' (2004) (makeup consultant: Hellboy / special effects director) * ''

The Ring Two ''The Ring Two'' is a 2005 American supernatural horror film and sequel to the 2002 film '' The Ring'', which was a remake of the 1998 Japanese film '' Ring''. Hideo Nakata, director of the original ''Ring'', directed this film in place of G ...

'' (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 electronics, digital logic developed by Philips (and also provided through and Mullard) that uses modules containing discrete components to build logic fu ...

'' (2007) (special makeup effects artist) * '' Tropic Thunder'' (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'' (2014) (makeup designer: Maleficent) * '' Rings'' (2017) (actor)

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

BAFTA Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best Cinema of the United Kingdom, British and Worl ...

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 bel ...

Other awards

* 2485th star on the

* Time Machine Award at the 2015

Sitges Film Festival SITGES - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia () is an annual film festival held in Sitges, Catalonia, Spain. It specializes in fantasy film, fantasy, Horror film, horror and Cult film, cult films. Established in 1968, the festiva ...

* Doctorate of Humane Letters from the Academy of Art University * 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 '' The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman'' (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 American special effects people