One of the masters of visual effects and makeup, Stan Winston, has died at the age of 62 after battling with a form of cancer known as multiple myeloma for several years.
Some of his films are a who’s who in genre-related movie history. “Galaxy Quest,” “Artificial Intelligence: AI,” “Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles,” “Batman Returns,” “Edward Scissorhands” and the list goes on and on.
Nominated nine times by the Academy Awards, Winston has several Oscars to his credit winning for best visual effects on such blockbuster films as “Aliens,” “Terminator 2″ Judgment Day” and Steven Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park.”
Upon hearing of his death Spielberg reflected, “Stan was a fearless and courageous artist/inventor and for many projects, I rode his cutting edge from teddy bears to aliens to dinosaurs. My world would not have been the same without Stan. What I will miss most is his easy laugh every time he said to me, ‘Nothing is impossible.'”
Renowned for his advances in robotic/animatronics and particularly his unique prosthetic makeup, which as also been used in prosthetic medicine, many in the filmmaking industry are mourning the death of this legendary figure in movies.
Winston got his start at the University of Virginia as an artist with paints and sculptures, and after moving to Hollywood in the late 1960’s got work within the studios creating mostly creatures for sci-fi and horror films. From there his legend grew. Believe it or not, Stan earned a living as a stand-up comedian in those early Hollywood days while he was trying to break in pictures as a visual artist.
Stan’s influence and impact on visual effects and prosthetic makeup would continue and become so sought after that he eventually was able to form three different companies to handle all the demand on his time — Digital Domain, Stan Winston Digital and Stan Winston studios.
Winston is survived by his wife, Karen; his actor son Matt, a daughter, brother and four grandchildren.
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