There was barely any mention of this great guy’s passing in the mainstream media. I may have had the last couple days off from work, but I wasn’t in a vacuum that badly.
Stan gave us so many creatures which are iconic now: the Terminator’s exoskeleton, the Predator, the Alien Queen, Edward Scissorhands and the Penguin for the 1992 Batman movie. His involvement in Jurassic Park is legendary. However, it’s easy to forget he was a makeup guy too so he helped out in dramas such as Roots, the Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and Musicals like the film version of The Wiz or direct to TV Pinocchio with Sandy Duncan (ugh!).
The list goes on and on at imdb.com. He had such a varied career as a producer, advisor, consultant and even director (lead and second unit). This helped him earn his own star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, first special effects guy to have one too.
Stan is going to be missed by me for sure because he was involved in more of my favorite movies than any other person. I think in his honor, I will try to find one of his more obscure titles, namely Heartbeeps or The Hand from the Early Eighties.