Stuart Freeborn

"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."

―George Lucas^[2]

Stuart Freeborn (September 5, 1914 – February 5, 2013)^[1] was the makeup supervisor for the Star Wars original trilogy. He was hired by director George Lucas after Lucas became impressed with his makeup effects work in the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey.^[3] He worked on all three films and the Holiday Special.^[4] Freeborn was responsible for transforming Peter Mayhew into Chewbacca. He was instructed to make a creature that was a mix of a dog and a cat. He was influenced by the monkey-man creatures that he worked on in 2001: A Space Odyssey.^[5] Some of his most notable contributions include creatures at the Mos Eisley Cantina,^[4]Yoda, Chewbacca, and Jabba the Hutt.^[6] He initially based Yoda's face on his own face, but he felt that those designs lacked the deep wisdom that Yoda deserved. He then combined his face that with Albert Einstein's face.^[7] His wife Kay Freeborn and son Graham Freeborn were also makeup artists.^[2] Orn Free Taa may have been named after him.^[8]

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Works[]

Filmography[]

Year	Title	Contribution(s)
1977	Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope	Makeup supervisor
1978	The Star Wars Holiday Special	Makeup supervisor
1980	Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back	Makeup supervisor
1983	Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi	Makeup supervisor