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| Stuart Freeborn at work on one of the Chewbacca face masks for the Classic Trilogy. |
Already an industry legend with regards to make-ups and make-up techniques on the likes of Stanley Kubrick films' Dr. Strangelove and 2001: A Space Odyssey, British talent Stuart Freeborn was the go-to guy for George Lucas once his base of operations for filming the original Star Wars had been set up in the UK. The first creature to get Freeborn's attention was the soon-doomed thug Greedo, re-worked from and based on a previous alien design that Lucas had seen and been impressed by in his London workshop. Then came the beloved wookiee costume for Chewbacca that had to be specifically created using yak hair and via the same special techniques so effectively showcased in the late sixties with the ape-men for 2001. Illness forced Freeborn to abandon work on several never competed Cantina aliens by May 1976, with Rick Baker's US creature make-ups team eventually filling in the gaps with 1977 additional shooting.
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| A colourized image of some of Freeborn's Mos Eisley aliens at Elstree - May 1976. |
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| Freeborn and Peter Mayhew at Shepperton Studios- mid-May 1976. |
A funny, dedicated, much-loved and much-missed inspirational creative genius, Stuart Freeborn, his wife Kay, son Graham, and the rest of his dedicated make-up team would return for the following two Classic Trilogy adventures and even bigger, ambitious creations.
As part of their special Star Wars themed evening on Thursday 21st December, 2017, the UK's BBC 4 have a special documentary showcasing the best of British talent to have worked on the saga over forty years: The Galaxy Britain Built. We're hoping that the more than qualified Freeborn family will be amongst those greats showcased...
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