Special effects icon Stan Winston dies at age 62

Oscar-winning visual effects artist Stan Winston died at his home in Los Angeles, CA last night, on Father’s Day, June 15th, after a long struggle with multiple myeloma, according to Variety, and representatives from Stan Winston Studio. Wow, I had no idea this legend of special effects had this disease, although I briefly met him at a con, when he was helping promote the low budget vampire film Skinwalkers, and he seemed a bit under the weather. But I wrote it off as a simple flu. That was about two years ago.

For decades, his animatronic creatures were the best in the industry and his prosthetic makeup was groundbreaking. As an artist myself, I have great respect for these guys as true artists, that are so under-appreciated in the art world. But truly, there should be a mega-museum dedicated to this craft. Stan Winston could have a museum dedicated to just him, in fact.

Eric Roth of the Visual Effects Society said

It’s a big loss. Our industry has lost one of its giants, someone who has had a tremendous impact on helping tell stories with the use of effects.

Winston is survived by his wife, Karen, a son, daughter, brother and four grandchildren.

Here is a partial list of projects that benefited from his craft:

Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins (2009)
Iron Man (2008)
Tideland (2005)
Constantine (2005)
Big Fish (2003)
Darkness Falls (2003)
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001)
Jurassic Park III (2001)
The Day the World Ended (2001) TV
Pearl Harbor (2001)
End of Days (1999)
Galaxy Quest (1999)
Inspector Gadget (1999)
Lake Placid (1999)
Instinct (1999)
Small Soldiers (1998)
The Relic (1997)
The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)
Congo (1995)
Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)
Shock to the System (1993)
Batman Returns (1992)
Amazing Stories: Book Two (1992) TV
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Predator 2 (1990)
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Leviathan (1989)
Predator (1987)
The Monster Squad (1987)
Amazing Stories (1986) TV
Invaders from Mars (1986)
Aliens (1986)
Chiller (1985) TV
The Phantom of the Opera (1983) TV
Manimal (1983) TV
Friday the 13th Part III (1982)
The Thing (1982)
Heartbeeps (1981)
Dead & Buried (1981)
The Hand (1981)
The Entity (1981)
The Exterminator (1980)
The Island (1980)
The Two Worlds of Jennie Logan (1979) TV
The Wiz (1978/I)
Dracula’s Dog (1978)
An Evening with Diana Ross (1977) TV
Roots (1977) TV mini-series
W.C. Fields and Me (1976)
Mansion of the Doomed (1976)
W.C. Fields and Me (1976)
Pinocchio (1976) TV
Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde (1976)
The Man in the Glass Booth (1975)
Masquerade Party (1974) TV
Unwed Father (1974) TV
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974) TV
Get Christie Love! (1974) TV
The Bat People (1974)
Gargoyles (1972) TV