Rick Baker
Costume & Make-Up
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."
V/H/S/Halloween
Rich (segment "Home Haunt")
Old Time Radio: The Specter of Christmas
The Caretaker
Fear and Love: The Story of The Exorcist
Self
Old Time Radio: Your Move
The Caretaker
The AGFA Mystery Mixtape Vault
(archive footage)
AGFA Mystery Mixtape #1
Self
Tales Beyond Madness
Making Apes: The Artists Who Changed Film
Self
Keep the Gaslight Burning
Mr Maxwell
King Cohen: The Wild World of Filmmaker Larry Cohen
Self
The Beast Inside: Creating 'Wolf'
Rick Baker
Cult of Terror
Self - Make-up Designer
MonsterKids: The Impact of Things That Go Bump In The Night
Self
Charlie Gemora: Uncredited
Himself
Creature Designers: The Frankenstein Complex
Self
Birth Pains
himself
The Scanners Way: Creating the Special Effects in 'Scanners'
Himself
House of Wax: Unlike Anything You've Seen Before!
Self
Men in Black 3
Brain Alien
The Wolfman
Gypsy Man / First Killed
Pure in Heart: The Life and Legacy of Lon Chaney, Jr.
Self
The Wolf Man: From Ancient Curse to Modern Myth
Self
I Walked with a Werewolf
Himself
Beware the Moon: Remembering 'An American Werewolf in London'
Self
Monsterland
Self
RKO Production 601: The Making of “Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World”
Self
He Who Made Monsters: The Life and Art of Jack Pierce
Self
Teddy Scares
Hester Golem (voice)
Working with a Master: John Landis
Self
The Sci-Fi Boys
Self
The Perfect Scary Movie
Self
The Art of Imagination: A Tribute to Oz
Self
Ray Harryhausen: The Early Years Collection
Self
Ed Wood: Making Bela
Self
Videodrome: Forging the New Flesh
Self
Rick Baker: Alien Maker
Self
Men in Black II
MIB Passport Control Agent
Planet of the Apes
Old Ape #2
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Puppeteer
Metamorphosis of 'Men in Black'
Self
Mummy Dearest: A Horror Tradition Unearthed
Self
The Road to 'Dracula'
Self
A Tribute to the Wizard of Oz
Himself
Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man'
Self
She's Alive! Creating 'The Bride of Frankenstein'
Self
The 'Frankenstein' Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster
Self
The Making of Men in Black
Self
It's Alive: The True Story of Frankenstein
Self
Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects
Self
The Making of Captain EO
Self
King Kong! The Living Legend
Self / King Kong
Fangoria's Weekend of Horrors
Self
Into the Night
Drug Dealer
Making Michael Jackson's Thriller
Self
Michael Jackson's Thriller
Zombie Opening the Crypt (uncredited)
The Making of David Cronenberg's Videodrome
Interviewee
The Incredible Shrinking Woman
Sidney
The Kentucky Fried Movie
Dino (segment "A.M. Today") (as Richard A. Baker)
King Kong
King Kong
The Night Turkey
Little Kathy's Date
The Thing with Two Heads
Gorilla