Oscar-nominated special effects star Roger Dicken, known for his work on Alien and When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, has died at the age of 84.
The VFX artist, sculptor and model maker died at his home in North Wales on February 18, his friend of five decades Mick Cooper revealed to The Hollywood Reporter.
Born on April 15, 1939 in Portsmouth, Hampshire, Roger Maxwell Dicken would go on to create incredible figures for critically acclaimed films.
The first film Roger worked on was Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey from 1968, but it was When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth in 1970 that earned Roger his nod.
After sculpting several prehistoric creatures, including two large pterodactyl legs, Roger shared an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects with animator Jim Danforth, but the pair lost to the Disney film Bedknobs and Broomsticks.
Oscar special effects nominee Roger Dicken (left), known for his work on Alien and When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, has died at the age of 84
The VFX artist, sculptor and model maker (left) died at his home in North Wales on February 18, his friend of five decades Mick Cooper revealed to The Hollywood Reporter
In an interview with Ken Miller for Film Extremes magazine in 1992, Roger talked about creating the killer creature in Alien that attacks Executive Officer Kane, played by John Hurt.
He said: ‘I crawled under the set with my activated, manual alien, and of course it was this that finally disgustingly appeared through his body and paused for a moment to twitch and breathe, etc., before sliding off the table .
‘Two assistants, holding simple squeeze bells attached to plastic tubes, allowed the small sacs to pulse inside the body, etc.
‘The monster’s exit was accomplished by pulling me under the table, as I lay on a cart with my arm holding the doll, and pushing it through a slot while knocking off strategically placed utensils that were about to to disappear.’
However, Roger, who is survived by his wife Wendy, was not one of the five people who shared the Oscar nomination for Ridley Scott’s Alien.
Roger talked about his ambition to create one of the old gorilla suits from 1940s films, but said he only managed to make the ape mask above the head from papier-mâché and then covered in fur.
Born on April 15, 1939 in Portsmouth, Hampshire, Roger Maxwell Dicken would go on to create incredible figures for critically acclaimed films
The first film Roger worked on was Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), but it was When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth in 1970 that earned Roger his nod.
After sculpting several prehistoric creatures, including two large pterodactyl feet, Roger shared an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects with animator Jim Danforth – but the pair lost to the Disney film Bedknobs and Broomsticks
In an interview with Ken Miller for Film Extremes magazine in 1992, Roger talked about creating the killer creature in Alien that attacks Executive Officer Kane, played by John Hurt.
He said: ‘I crawled under the set with my activated, manual alien, and of course it was this that finally disgustingly appeared through his body and paused for a moment to twitch and breathe, etc., before sliding off the table .’
“I scared the hell out of some local girls coming home from a dance late at night,” he said of the mask.
Roger created and operated the dinosaur puppets in the 1974 film The Land That Time Forgot.
Throughout his career he created many monsters and animals for films, including the moth monster for 1968’s The Blood Beast Terror, starring Peter Cushing.
Roger also worked on Witchfinder General (1968), created bats for Scars of Dracula (1970) and octopuses for Warlords of the Deep (1978), among others.
However, Roger, who is survived by his wife Wendy, was not one of the five people who shared the Oscar nomination for Ridley Scott’s Alien.
Roger talked about his ambition to create one of the old gorilla suits from 1940s films, but said he only managed to make the ape mask above the head from papier-mâché and then covered in fur.
Roger created and operated the dinosaur puppets in the 1974 film The Land That Time Forgot