Winston died at home Sunday evening after a seven-year struggle with multiple myeloma, according to a rep from Stan Winston Studio. “Stan died peacefully at home surrounded by family," a spokeswoman said. He was 62.
Winston won four visual effects Oscars and earned multiple nominations. His first Oscar was for James Cameron's Aliens (1986). Winston later won two Oscars for Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1992) (visual effects and makeup) and 1993's Jurassic Park.
Phil Tippett, who shared a visual effects Oscar with Winston on Jurassic Park, noted that Winston was one of the best in the business. “Stan contributed to some of the greatest -- fantastic movie characters in motion picture history," Tippett said. “His loss is a great one and he will be missed."
Winston was born April 7, 1946 in Richmond, Virginia. He studied painting and sculpture at the University of Virginia. Starting out in Hollywood wanting to be an actor, he worked making a living as a stand-up comedian before moving into make-up effects. Over the years, he expanded his skills to include animatronics and digital effects, and for 36 years with his own makeup effects studio, was one of the founders of visual effects companies Digital Domain, Stan Winston Digital and Stan Winston studios. He was only the second special effects artist to be honored with a star on Hollywood's Walk of Stars.
His death comes as a shock to many. In lieu of flowers, Winston's family is requesting that donations be made to his charities of choice, a list of which will be posted here shortly.
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