R.I.P. Stuart Freeborn
British makeup artist Stuart Freeborn, known for his work on the Star Wars films and 2001: A Space Odyssey, has died. He was 98. Freeborn died in London of a combination of ailments associated with his age, according to AP. In addition to creating Star Wars‘ Jedi master Yoda, which he modeled after Albert Einstein’s features as well as his own, Freeborn helped create Chewbacca and Jabba the Hutt as well as other iconic characters in the franchise. “Stuart was already a makeup legend when he started on Star Wars,” George Lucas said in a statement sent by Lucasfilm. “He brought with him not only decades of experience, but boundless creative energy. His artistry and craftsmanship will live on forever in the characters he created.” Outside of his most famous Star Wars creations, Freeborn designed the apelike “Dawn Of Man” hominids in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and transformed Peter Sellers for Dr. Strangelove. Per BBC, the makeup legend was born in 1914 in Leytonstone, east London. He started his career in film make-up at Denham Studios in the 1930s and ’40s, where he worked on movies including Rembrandt, The Thief Of Baghdad, and The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp. He was preceded in passing by his wife Kay, who passed away in 2012, and son Graham, who died in 1986, both with whom he frequently worked.
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