Rick Baker
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,
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."
Born
Dec 08, 1950
Binghamton, New York, USA
Known For
Costume & Make-Up
Movies
70 acting
96 crew
Popularity
1.2
Known For
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
2000
as Puppeteer
Men in Black 3
2012
as Brain Alien
Men in Black II
2002
as MIB Passport Control Agent
Planet of the Apes
2001
as Old Ape #2
V/H/S/Halloween
2025
as Rich (segment "Home Haunt")
The Wolfman
2010
as Gypsy Man / First Killed
Michael Jackson's Thriller
1983
as Zombie Opening the Crypt (uncredited)
King Kong
1976
as King Kong
Into the Night
1985
as Drug Dealer
The Kentucky Fried Movie
1977
as Dino (segment "A.M. Today") (as Richard A. Baker)
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