Special effects artist Stan Winston died 15 June 2008 after a seven-year battle with multiple myeloma. Born 7 April 1946 in Richmond, Virginia, he won Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects for Jurassic Park (1993), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), and Aliens (1986), as well as another for Make-Up for Terminator 2. He also won Emmy Awards for Best Makeup for The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974) and Gargoyles (1972); and Saturn Awards for Special Effects and for Make-Up for Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001), Jurassic Park, Batman Returns (1992), Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Aliens, and The Terminator (1984). In addition to those wins, he was also nominated for a further six Academy Awards, two Emmys, and ten Saturns.
His extensive list of genre productions includes work in either the Make-Up or Special Effects departments of: Iron Man (2008), Constantine (2005), Big Fish (2003), Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), Darkness Falls (2003), The Day the World Ended (2001), Galaxy Quest (1999), End of Days (1999), Inspector Gadget (1999), Lake Placid (1999), Small Soldiers (1998), The Relic (1997), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), Congo (1995), Tank Girl (1995), Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994), Predator 2 (1990), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Leviathan (1989), The Monster Squad (1987), Predator (1987), Amazing Stories (1986), Invaders from Mars (1986), Chiller (1985), Manimal (1983), The Phantom of the Opera (1983), Friday the 13th Part III (1982), The Thing (1982), Heartbeeps (1981), Dead & Buried (1981), The Hand (1981), The Entity (1981), The Wiz (1978), Dracula’s Dog (1978), Mansion of the Doomed (1976), Pinocchio (1976), Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde (1976), and The Bat People (1974). He was also the producer of three forthcoming projects: Speed Demon, Me and My Monster, and The Suffering.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who starred in the Terminator films, issued a statement: “The entertainment industry has lost a genius, and I lost one of my best friends with the death Sunday night of Stan Winston. Stan’s work and four Oscars speak for themselves and will live on forever. What will live forever in my heart is the way that Stan loved everyone and treated each of his friends like they were family.”
Director Jon Favreau, with whom he most recently worked on Iron Man, said “He was experienced and helped guide me while never losing his childlike enthusiasm. He was the king of integrating practical effects with CGI, never losing his relevance in an ever changing industry. I am proud to have worked with him and we were looking forward to future collaborations. I knew that he was struggling, but I had no idea that he would be gone so soon. Hollywood has lost a shining star.”
He was working on the forthcoming Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins at the time of his death. Director James Cameron, with whom he’d worked on the previous Terminator films, said “He ran at full throttle, in both work and play, and was a man of kindness, wisdom and great humor. He was a kid that never grew up, whose dreams were writ large on the screens of the world. I am proud to have been his friend, and I will miss him very deeply.”
After studying painting and sculpture at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville (he graduated in 1968), Winston moved to Southern California to become an actor. He wasn’t able to get any acting work, so the following year, he started a three-year apprenticeship in Walt Disney Studios’s Makeup Department.
At the time of his death, he was the head of Stan Winston Studio, which creates characters, creatures, and monsters for feature films. Winston is survived by his wife, Karen; his son, actor Matt Winston; his daughter, brother, and four grandchildren.