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RICK BAKER
SPECIAL EFFECTS MAKE-UP
RICK BAKER: MONSTER
MAKER
When it comes to Special Make-Up and Creature Effects there is
virtually no match for Rich Baker and his abilities. He is best know
for his ape work, but does it all so well.
Rick Baker was born in Birmingham, N.Y. on December 8th, 1950.
Before graduating high school the young Baker landed his first job
at Art Clokey Productions, creating make-up and appliances. At the
ripe age of 10 Rick Baker decided this was what he wanted to do for
a living. He spent his hobby time create artificial body parts by
baking them in the kitchen oven.
While in college he earned $1000 making a creature for the Octaman
television series. Right out of college he landed his first big job
to create an apelike creature for the movie Schlock in 1971. In 1972
Baker designed a two-headed ape creature for the horror film,
"The Thing With Two Heads", and even wore the suit in the
film. This is something Baker does often. He even tests the costumes
on himself to know how the actors will feel in them.
Baker new he had made it when Monster Magazine listed him as Rick
Baker: Monster Maker. For his industry this is like making it in
People magazine or Sports Illustrated.
Late in '72 Baker was hired as an assistant to the legendary make-up
god Dick Smith on "The Exorcist". In 1973 Dick Smith
recommended Baker for the James Bond flick "Live and Let
Die". For this film he created two human heads. One that would
be shot and another that would swell and explode. For 1974 he would
created the gruesome human deformed baby for "It's
Alive".
But the assignment that put the young make-up artist on the
Hollywood fast-track was being hired by George Lucas to create the
aliens for the famous Star Wars cantina scene. Other men involved in
the create development have become huge in the business as well
(Phil Tippett, John Berg, and Rob Bottim).
Baker would follow-up Star Wars with Cocoon, Gorillas in the Mist,
Batman Forever, the Nutty Professor, Men in Black, Mighty Joe Young,
How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Rocketeer, Harry and the Hendersons,
Planet of the Apes, Nutty Professor II, Greystoke, the Legend of
Tarzan, American Werewolf in London, Ed Wood, and others. He has
been busy in recent years doing, The Ring, The Hulk, Men In Black
II, Cat in the Hat, and Hellboy. On a funny note he even was
responsible for work on the feature "Flesh Gordon".
Television has also fit nicely into his work creating great
creatures for the mini-series "Something is Out There",
Vincent for "Beauty and the Beast" and the very cool
creature work on "Werewolf".
Keeping up with the technology Rick Baker is now using "Men In
Suits" mixed with CGI which are much better than ILM's total
CGI creatures. They appear more real on the screen.
Still going strong Rick Baker already won 5 Oscars and 3 Academy
Awards. There has also been an Emmy in '74 for the Autobiography of
Miss Jane Pittman, and a Golden Globe for Men in Black in 1997. He
won his first Oscar in 1981 for The American Werewolf in
London.
Rick Baker is just hitting his stride. What we see from him in the
future will be better than what we have seen from him.
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