Rick Baker

Biography

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]

Advertisement

Advertisement

Rick Baker — movies and TV shows

Men in Black II

2002

Planet of the Apes

2001

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

2000

Men in Black 3

2012

The Wolfman

2010

Face Off

2011

V/H/S/Halloween

2025

King Kong

1976

Michael Jackson's Thriller

1983

Into the Night

1985

DC Daily

2018

The Kentucky Fried Movie

1977

The Incredible Shrinking Woman

1981

Creature Designers: The Frankenstein Complex

2015

Dark Reel

2008

The Perfect Scary Movie

2005

Face Off: Game Face

2017

Making Apes: The Artists Who Changed Film

2019

King Cohen: The Wild World of Filmmaker Larry Cohen

2018

Pure in Heart: The Life and Legacy of Lon Chaney, Jr.

2010

Cult of Terror

2017

The 'Frankenstein' Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster

1999

The AGFA Mystery Mixtape Vault

2020

RKO Production 601: The Making of “Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World”

2008

Sponsored

Unchained Reaction

2012

Birth Pains

2015

Ed Wood: Making Bela

2004

The Thing with Two Heads

1972

Ray Harryhausen: The Early Years Collection

2005

She's Alive! Creating 'The Bride of Frankenstein'

1999

The Road to 'Dracula'

1999

Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man'

1999

The Sci-Fi Boys

2006

AGFA Mystery Mixtape #1

2020

Mummy Dearest: A Horror Tradition Unearthed

2000

Metamorphosis of 'Men in Black'

2000

Beware the Moon: Remembering 'An American Werewolf in London'

2009

Fear and Love: The Story of The Exorcist

2024

It's Alive: The True Story of Frankenstein

1994

A Tribute to the Wizard of Oz

1999

Making Michael Jackson's Thriller

1983

Charlie Gemora: Uncredited

2016

Making an American Werewolf in London

1981

Keep the Gaslight Burning

2018

Old Time Radio: The Specter of Christmas

2025

The Making of Captain EO

1986

Working with a Master: John Landis

2006

Gremlins, an american nightmare!

2026

Advertisement

Advertisement

The Making of David Cronenberg's Videodrome

1982

The Art of Imagination: A Tribute to Oz

2005

Men in Black II‎: Creature Featurettes

2002

He Who Made Monsters: The Life and Art of Jack Pierce

2008

Monsterland

2009

The Making of Men in Black

1997

Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects

1994

The Wolf Man: From Ancient Curse to Modern Myth

2010

Fangoria's Weekend of Horrors

1986

The Beast Inside: Creating 'Wolf'

2017

Old Time Radio: Dance With Me

Videodrome: Forging the New Flesh

2004