Mt. 91直播 Alum Changed the Face of American Movies
February 15, 2018 - 12:06 AM
As Oscar season rolls around, it鈥檚 time to acknowledge one of Mt. 91直播鈥檚 alums who holds a record seven Academy Awards for Makeup and has made a career out of bringing monsters to life.
Rick Baker, who attended Mt. 91直播 as an art student from 1969 to 1971, won the very first Oscar for Best Makeup and Hairstyling the very first year of the award in 1982 for 鈥淎n American Werewolf in London.鈥� He has gone on to win a record seven Academy Awards for his work in 鈥淗arry and the Hendersons鈥� (1988), 鈥淓d Wood鈥� (1995), 鈥淭he Nutty Professor鈥� (1997), 鈥淢en in Black鈥� (1998), 鈥淗ow the Grinch Stole Christmas鈥� (2001), and 鈥淭he Wolfman鈥� (2011).
He also won Best Makeup BAFTA Awards for 鈥淭he Nutty Professor鈥� and 鈥淕reystroke: The Legend of Tarzan,鈥� and he won a Best Makeup Emmy for 鈥淭he Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman鈥� (1974). In 2009, he won the Jack Pierce Lifetime Achievement Award.
Baker started creating artificial body parts in his kitchen as a teenager. A true innovator in makeup effects for film television, he went on to serve as a makeup artist assistant on 鈥淭he Exorcist,鈥� which helped him prepare for a career providing award-winning makeup effects in many movie genres from comedy to science fiction and horror films. He also created the 鈥渨erecat鈥� creature Michael Jackson transforms into in the music video 鈥淭hriller.鈥� His special makeup effects include the use of foam, latex, and jell applications to create his cutting-edge images for film.
Mt. 91直播 recognized Baker in 1997 with the George H. Bell Award for Outstanding Alumnus at the 19th annual Friends of the College Awards 91直播 in 1997.
Through his work on countless films since the 1970s, Rick Baker has quite literally changed the face of American movies.