Stuart Freeborn (5 September 1914 – 5 February 2013) was a British motion picture make-up artist.[1] He has been referred to as the "grandfather of modern make-up design"[2] and is perhaps best known for his work on the original Star Wars trilogy, most notably the design and fabrication of Yoda.[3][4][5][6]
Career
"Stuart was already a makeup legend when he started on Star Wars. 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. His Star Wars creatures may be reinterpreted in new forms by new generations, but at their heart, they continue to be what Stuart created for the original films."
Freeborn's earliest work in the film industry was designing the controversial hair and make-up worn by Alec Guinness, as Fagin, in Oliver Twist. Freeborn's most famous work is creating the make-up for all of the characters in the Star Wars trilogy, including Chewbacca and Yoda; he based Yoda on his own face and partly on Albert Einstein.[1][3][4][5] He oversaw the design of the original Jabba the Hutt puppet used in Return of the Jedi as well as the creation of the Ewoks.[8]
Freeborn died on 5 February 2013 at the age of 98 in London.[10] His wife Kay died in 2012. Freeborn's three sons—Roger, Ray and Graham—also predeceased him. Freeborn had eight grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.[4]
