Basil Gogos facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Basil Gogos
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Gogos at the 2015 East Coast Comicon in Secaucus, New Jersey
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| Born | March 12, 1929 |
| Died | September 13, 2017 (aged 88) |
| Known for | Painting, Drawing, |
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Notable work
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Famous Monsters Of Filmland |
| Awards | Monster Kid Hall Of Fame Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards |
Basil Gogos was an American artist. He was famous for painting scary movie monsters. His art appeared on the covers of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine. This was in the 1960s and 1970s. He was born on March 12, 1929, and passed away on September 13, 2017.
Contents
Basil Gogos' Early Life
Basil Gogos was born in Alexandria, Egypt. His family was from Greece. When he was 16, his family moved to the United States.
Basil loved art from a young age. As a young adult, he worked different jobs. He also studied art whenever he could. His dream was to become a great artist. He went to several art schools in New York City. One important teacher was Frank J. Reilly at the Art Students League of New York.
Basil won a competition at his art school. This led to his first professional art job. He painted the cover for a western book called Pursuit in 1959.
Basil Gogos' Art Career
In the 1960s, Basil Gogos created many illustrations. He worked for different magazines in New York. He often painted exciting scenes. These included World War II battles and jungle adventures.
Painting Famous Monsters
Basil Gogos became most famous for his work with Warren Publishing. This company made Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine. The magazine started in 1958. It was for young readers who loved classic horror movies. The covers usually showed close-up pictures of movie monsters.
Gogos' first monster cover was for Famous Monsters of Filmland #9 in 1960. It showed Vincent Price from House of Usher. Over the next 20 years, he painted almost 50 covers for the magazine. Many of these pictures are now very well-known. He also painted covers for other Warren magazines. These included Creepy and Eerie.
Gogos' Famous Monsters art featured many classic characters. These included The Phantom of the Opera, Frankenstein's monster, and Dracula. He also painted actors like Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi.
Gogos' Unique Painting Style
Gogos often painted his subjects with bright, unusual colors. He imagined the monsters lit by many different colored lights. He enjoyed painting monsters more than other jobs. This was because he had more freedom. He also liked the challenge of painting such unique characters. He tried to make them look both scary and a little bit sad.
Later Art Projects
In the late 1970s, Gogos stopped full-time commercial art. He wanted to focus more on his own fine art. He created personal artworks using watercolors. He also worked as a photo retoucher for a movie company. Sometimes, he drew pictures for movie posters. Later, he worked in advertising. He made sketches for commercials.
In the 1990s, people became interested in classic horror films again. So, Gogos returned to painting monsters. His new monster art appeared on trading cards and posters. He also painted CD covers for rock bands. These included Rob Zombie and The Misfits.
In 2005, a book about his art was published. It was called Famous Monster Movie Art of Basil Gogos.
Basil Gogos' Death
Basil Gogos passed away in Manhattan, New York, on September 13, 2017. He was 88 years old.
Awards and Recognition
Basil Gogos received several awards for his amazing artwork.
- In 2006, he was added to the Monster Kid Hall Of Fame. This was at The Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards. It was for his important work in classic horror art.
- He also won the Inkpot Award in 2006.
Images for kids
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Gogos at the 2015 East Coast Comicon in Secaucus, New Jersey
