Rick Baker

Rick Baker is an American makeup and special effects artist. He was born in Binghamton, New York on December 8th, 1950. Baker's first professional job was the development of the gorilla suit seen in the schlocky 1971 film The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant. He received the inaugural Academy Award for Makeup for his work on An American Werewolf in London. He also created the "werecat" creature Michael Jackson transforms into in the movie/music video Thriller. Subsequently, Baker has been nominated nine more times with five additional Oscars, both records in his field. On October 3rd, 2009 he received the Jack Pierce – Lifetime Achievement Award title of the Chiller-Eyegore Awards. Baker also created the special makeup effects for the 2010 film The Wolfman. He made a cameo appearance in the film as the first victim of the initial werewolf. Baker's special effects techniques in The Wolfman are stylistically reminiscent of his work on An American Werewolf in London.