Stan Winston facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Stan Winston
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Winston at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival
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| Born |
Stanley Winston
April 7, 1946 |
| Died | June 15, 2008 (aged 62) Malibu, California, U.S.
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| Resting place | Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery |
| Occupation | Special make-up effects creator |
| Years active | 1972–2008 |
| Spouse(s) |
Karen Winston
(m. 1969) |
| Children | 2 |
Stanley Winston (born April 7, 1946 – died June 15, 2008) was an American artist. He was famous for creating amazing special effects and creatures for movies and TV shows. You've probably seen his work in films like the Terminator series, Jurassic Park, Aliens, and Edward Scissorhands.
Stan Winston was a true master of bringing imaginary characters to life. He often worked with famous directors like James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, and Tim Burton. He owned several studios that made these incredible effects. While he was known for makeup, puppets, and real-life effects, his studios also started using digital effects.
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Early Life and Artistic Beginnings
Stan Winston was born on April 7, 1946, in Arlington County, Virginia. He went to Washington-Lee High School and finished in 1964. After high school, he studied painting and sculpture at the University of Virginia. He graduated from college in 1968.
In 1969, Stan moved to Hollywood, hoping to become an actor. It was tough to find acting jobs. So, he started learning about makeup at Walt Disney Studios. This was the start of his amazing career in special effects.
Becoming a Special Effects Wizard
In 1972, Stan Winston started his own company, Stan Winston Studio. Just one year later, in 1973, he won an Emmy Award for his special effects on a TV movie called Gargoyles.
He kept getting nominated for Emmy Awards. He won another one in 1974 for The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. Stan also designed the Wookiee costumes for the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special. In 1978, he was the special makeup designer for the movie The Wiz.
Breakthrough Work in the 1980s
In 1982, Stan Winston got his first Academy Award nomination for Heartbeeps. But it was his incredible work on The Thing that really made him famous. He also helped with visual effects for Friday the 13th Part III. He even made a different head for Jason for an ending that wasn't used.
In 1983, Stan designed the cool Mr. Roboto facemask for the band Styx. He also worked on the TV show Manimal. For this show, he created amazing effects for characters changing into a panther and a hawk.
Stan Winston became even more famous in 1984. This was when James Cameron's movie The Terminator came out. The movie was a huge hit. Stan's work on bringing the metal killing machine to life led to many new projects. He worked with James Cameron many more times. In fact, Stan won his first Academy Award for Best Visual Effects in 1986 for James Cameron's next movie, Aliens.
Over the next few years, Stan's company won many awards. They worked on films like Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands, Predator, Alien Nation, The Monster Squad, and Predator 2.
In 1988, Stan Winston directed his first horror movie, Pumpkinhead. He won an award for Best First Time Director at the Paris Film Festival. His next directing job was a kid-friendly movie called A Gnome Named Gnorm (1990).
Amazing Creations in the 1990s
James Cameron asked Stan Winston and his team to work on Terminator 2: Judgment Day in 1990. When T2 came out in 1991, it was a huge success. Stan's work on this movie won him two more Academy Awards. He won for Best Makeup and Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.
In 1992, he was nominated for another Tim Burton film, Batman Returns. He designed the makeup for Danny DeVito's Penguin character. His studio also made robotic penguin puppets used in the movie.
Stan Winston then moved from super villains and cyborgs to dinosaurs! Steven Spielberg asked for his help to bring Jurassic Park to the big screen. In 1993, the movie was a blockbuster. Stan won another Oscar for Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.
In 1993, Stan Winston, James Cameron, and Scott Ross started Digital Domain. This became one of the top digital and visual effects studios in the world.
Stan and his team kept making effects for many more films. They also started doing more work with animatronics. Animatronics are robotic puppets that can move and look very real. Some of his famous animatronics work is in The Ghost and the Darkness and T2-3D: Battle Across Time. This was a 3-D Terminator ride for the Universal Studios theme parks. One of his biggest animatronics projects was for Steven Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence. This earned Stan another Oscar nomination for Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.
In 1996, Stan Winston directed and helped produce the longest music video ever, Ghosts. This video was based on an idea by Michael Jackson and Stephen King. It showed many new visual effects.
Later Work and Legacy
In the 2000s, Stan Winston continued to be busy. In 2001, he helped produce a series of movies for cable TV. These films were inspired by old monster movie titles from the 1950s.
In 2002, Stan helped launch new comic books like "Stan Winston's Realm Of The Claw." In 2003, he was invited by the Smithsonian Institution to talk about his life and career. This was a big honor!
Stan also worked on Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. He was working on Jurassic Park IV and Terminator Salvation when he passed away. He also designed monsters for the video games The Suffering and its sequel.
Stan Winston's Passing
Stan Winston died on June 15, 2008, in Malibu, California. He had been sick for seven years with a type of cancer called multiple myeloma. His family said he "died peacefully at home." He was with his wife and two children, Matt Winston and Debbie Winston.
Many people honored Stan after he passed away. Arnold Schwarzenegger gave a public speech about him. Director Jon Favreau dedicated his Scream Award for Iron Man to Stan. The movie Terminator Salvation is also dedicated to him. After his death, four of his main supervisors started their own studio called Legacy Effects. They named it to remember Stan and his amazing work.
Stan Winston School
To keep Stan's legacy alive, his family started the Stan Winston School of Character Arts. This school helps teach and inspire new artists to create amazing characters, just like Stan did.
Directors Stan Winston Worked With
Stan Winston worked with these directors on more than one film:
- Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns, Big Fish)
- James Cameron (The Terminator, Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Avatar)
- John Carpenter (The Thing, Starman)
- Jon Favreau (Zathura: A Space Adventure, Iron Man)
- Steven Spielberg (Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, War of the Worlds, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)
Awards and Nominations
Stan Winston won many awards for his incredible work:
- 1973: Won Emmy Award for Outstanding Makeup: The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
- 1973: Won Emmy Award for Outstanding Makeup: Gargoyles
- 1982: Nominated for Best Makeup: Heartbeeps
- 1987: Won Oscar for Best Visual Effects: Aliens
- 1988: Nominated for Best Visual Effects: Predator
- 1991: Nominated for Best Makeup: Edward Scissorhands
- 1992: Won 2 Oscars – Best Visual Effects & Best Makeup: Terminator 2: Judgment Day
- 1993: Nominated for Best Makeup: Batman Returns
- 1994: Won Oscar for Best Visual Effects: Jurassic Park
- 1998: Nominated for Best Visual Effects: The Lost World: Jurassic Park
- 2002: Nominated for Best Visual Effects: A.I. Artificial Intelligence
See also
In Spanish: Stan Winston para niños
