Biography
From humble beginnings cooking up monster masks in his mother's kitchen, Baker's talent and sheer enthusiasm catapulted him from his first Hollywood job as a makeup assistant on "The Exorcist" (1973) to supervising the creation of a bevy of cantina aliens in "Star Wars" (1977) and crafting arguably the scariest post-modern wolfman in "An American Werewolf in London" (1981). Thanks in part to his work on Michael Jackson's 1983 music video …
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Career Milestones
| Entered industry as chief lab assistant to celebrated makeup artist Dick Smith | ||
| Special effects sculptor for TV commercials including "Block buster" for Vicks Sinex, "King Kong" for Volkswagen and "Cowardly Cat" for Purina | ||
| Utilized his "Night Skies" crew as the nucleus for his own London-based makeup effects company, EFX Inc. | ||
| Worked as a puppet designer for Clokey Studios | ||
1971 | Feature debut as performer (in gorilla suit), "Schlock"; first collaboration with writer-director John Landis | |
1972 | Created special effects makeup for first film, "The Thing With Two Heads" | |
1976 | Appeared in costume in the title role of Dino De Laurentiis' production of "King Kong" | |
1977 | Acted in Landis' "Kentucky Fried Movie" | |
1977 | Credited for 2nd unit makeup on "Star Wars"; worked on the celebrated cantina sequence | |
1979 | Co-wrote (with Joe Camp) the story for the children's film "The Double McGuffin" | |
1980 | Credited as "special makeup effects consultant" on "The Howling" | |
1980 | Hired by Steven Spielberg to design hostile aliens for an abortive film project entitled "Night Skies"; fired by Spielberg after a heated exchange over budgetary concerns | |
1981 | Did some of his most celebrated special makeup effects work on Landis' "An American Werewolf in London" | |
1984 | Credited for "costume design (primate)" for "Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes" (also did special makeup effects) | |
1986 | Credited as a chimpanzee consultant on Nagisa Oshima's "Max mon amour" | |
1987 | Created the makeup for Ron Perlman's role of Vincent, the beast on the romance series "Beauty and the Beast" | |
1987 | Designed the werewolf for the Fox series, "Werewolf" | |
1988 | Engineered Michael Jackson's facial transformation in the bestselling "Moonwalker" video | |
1988 | Served as an associate producer on "Gorillas in the Mist" (also did special makeup effects) | |
1990 | Served as co-producer and special effects supervisor for the Gremlins and Mogwai in Dante's "Gremlins 2: The New Batch" | |
1994 | Co-produced the TV movie, "Betrayed By Love" | |
1996 | Earned an Oscar for creating the makeup effects for the remake of "The Nutty Professor" starring Eddie Murphy | |
1997 | Designed the makeup effects for "Men in Black"; shared the Academy Award for Best Makeup | |
1999 | Garnered Oscar nomination for his makeup designs for "Life" co-starring Murphy | |
2000 | Reprised award-winning designs for the sequel "The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps" | |
2000 | Won oscar for the makeup effects he designed for the box-office smash, "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" | |
2001 | Reteamed with Tim Burton on the makeup effects for the remake of "Planet of the Apes" | |
2002 | Credited for alien makeup effects in "Men in Black II' | |
2004 | Created Ron Perlman's look for "Hellboy" | |
2005 | Credited as special makeup effects consultant for "X-Men: The Last Stand' | |
2007 | Again collaborated with Eddie Murphy for "Norbit"; earned his eleventh Academy Award nomination | |
Awards
1974 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement In Makeup in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman |
1981 | Academy Award for Makeup in An American Werewolf in London |
1984 | Academy Award for Makeup in Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes |
1984 | BAFTA Award for Make-Up Artist in Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes |
1987 | Academy Award for Makeup in Harry and the Hendersons |
1988 | Academy Award for Makeup in Coming to America |
1988 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement In Makeup For a Miniseries or a Special in Something Is Out There |
1988 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement In Makeup For a Series in Beauty and the Beast |
1989 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement In Makeup For a Series in Beauty and the Beast |
1994 | Academy Award for Makeup in Ed Wood |
1995 | BAFTA Award for Make Up & Hair in Ed Wood |
1996 | Academy Award for Makeup in The Nutty Professor |
1996 | BAFTA Award for Make Up & Hair in The Nutty Professor |
1997 | Academy Award for Makeup in Men in Black |
1997 | BAFTA Award for Achievement In Special Visual Effects in Men in Black |
1998 | Academy Award for Visual Effects in Mighty Joe Young |
1999 | Academy Award for Makeup in Life |
2000 | Academy Award for Makeup in Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas |
2000 | BAFTA Award for Make Up & Hair in Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas |
2001 | BAFTA Award for Make Up & Hair in Planet of the Apes |
2007 | Academy Award for Makeup in Norbit |
2010 | Academy Award for Makeup in The Wolfman |