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Rick Baker
Costume & Make-Up
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 Ex…
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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."
Biography expanded
BODY OF WORK
Rick Baker's Filmography
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Gremlins, an american nightmare!
as Himself
V/H/S/Halloween
as Rich (segment "Home Haunt")
Old Time Radio: The Specter of Christmas
as The Caretaker
Fear and Love: The Story of The Exorcist
as Self
Old Time Radio: Your Move
as The Caretaker
The AGFA Mystery Mixtape Vault
as (archive footage)
AGFA Mystery Mixtape #1
as Self
No Poster
The Creeper: Rondo Hatton at Universal
as Self
Tales Beyond Madness
Making Apes: The Artists Who Changed Film
as Self
Keep the Gaslight Burning
as Mr Maxwell
King Cohen: The Wild World of Filmmaker Larry Cohen
as Self
The Beast Inside: Creating 'Wolf'
as Rick Baker
Cult of Terror
as Self - Make-up Designer
MonsterKids: The Impact of Things That Go Bump In The Night
as Self
Charlie Gemora: Uncredited
as Himself
Creature Designers: The Frankenstein Complex
as Self
Birth Pains
as himself
No Poster
The Scanners Way: Creating the Special Effects in 'Scanners'
as Himself
House of Wax: Unlike Anything You've Seen Before!
as Self
Men in Black 3
as Brain Alien
The Wolfman
as Gypsy Man / First Killed
Pure in Heart: The Life and Legacy of Lon Chaney, Jr.
as Self
The Wolf Man: From Ancient Curse to Modern Myth
as Self
No Poster
I Walked with a Werewolf
as Himself
Beware the Moon: Remembering 'An American Werewolf in London'
as Self
Monsterland
as Self
RKO Production 601: The Making of “Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World”
as Self
He Who Made Monsters: The Life and Art of Jack Pierce
as Self
Dark Reel
as First Mate
No Poster
Teddy Scares
as Hester Golem (voice)
Working with a Master: John Landis
as Self
The Sci-Fi Boys
as Self
The Perfect Scary Movie
as Self
The Art of Imagination: A Tribute to Oz
as Self
Ray Harryhausen: The Early Years Collection
as Self
Ed Wood: Making Bela
as Self
Videodrome: Forging the New Flesh
as Self
Men in Black II: Creature Featurettes
as Self
Rick Baker: Alien Maker
as Self
Men in Black II
as MIB Passport Control Agent
Planet of the Apes
as Old Ape #2
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
as Puppeteer
Metamorphosis of 'Men in Black'
as Self
Mummy Dearest: A Horror Tradition Unearthed
as Self
The Road to 'Dracula'
as Self
She's Alive! Creating 'The Bride of Frankenstein'
as Self
Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man'
as Self
The 'Frankenstein' Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster
as Self
A Tribute to the Wizard of Oz
as Himself
The Making of Men in Black
as Self
It's Alive: The True Story of Frankenstein
as Self
Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects
as Self
No Poster
Amazing Worlds of Science Fiction and Fantasy
as Self
The Making of Captain EO
as Self
No Poster
King Kong! The Living Legend
as Self / King Kong
Fangoria's Weekend of Horrors
as Self
Into the Night
as Drug Dealer
Making Michael Jackson's Thriller
as Self
Michael Jackson's Thriller
as Zombie Opening the Crypt (uncredited)
The Making of David Cronenberg's Videodrome
as Interviewee
No Poster
Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Monsters ... But Were Afraid!
as self
Making an American Werewolf in London
The Incredible Shrinking Woman
as Sidney
The Kentucky Fried Movie
as Dino (segment "A.M. Today") (as Richard A. Baker)
King Kong
as King Kong
The Night Turkey
as Little Kathy's Date
The Thing with Two Heads
as Gorilla
Old Time Radio: Dance With Me
as Caretaker