John Vulich (1961 – October 12, 2016) was an American make-up effects artist and co-founder of Optic Nerve Studios.

John Vulich
Born1961 (1961)
DiedOctober 12, 2016(2016-10-12) (aged 54–55)
NationalityAmerican
OccupationMake-up effects artist

Early life

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Vulich was born in Fresno, California. During high school he experimented with special effects and began corresponding with Tom Savini. Savini brought Vulich in as a personal assistant for the Friday the 13th series.[1]

Special effects career

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Vulich continued working on 80's monster movies, including Ghoulies, Day of the Dead,[2] and The Lost Boys.[3] In 1989 Vulich decided to open his own company, Optic Nerve Studios, with Everett Burrell.[1]

From there Vulich and the rest of Optic Nerve Studio would go on to work on well known science fiction and horror shows including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, The X-Files, and Babylon 5.

Vulich sold Optic Nerve Studio to Glenn Hetrick and went on to work in production at Disney Studios before dying of a heart attack on October 12, 2016.[4]

Awards

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Year Award Title Results Ref
1991 Saturn Award for Best Make-Up Night of the Living Dead Nominated
1993 The Dark Half Nominated
1994 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Makeup for a Series Babylon 5 Won [5]
1995 Nominated [5]
1997 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Makeup for a Series Nominated [5]
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Nominated [6]
1998 Babylon 5: In the Beginning Nominated
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Won [6]
1999 Nominated [6]
1999 The X-Files Won [7]
2002 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Makeup for a Series (Prosthetic) Buffy the Vampire Slayer Nominated [6]

References

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  1. ^ a b Nazzaro, Joe (October 17, 2016). "Optic Nerve Co-Founder, John Vulich, Dead at 55". Make-Up Artist Magazine. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  2. ^ The Making of George A. Romero's Day of the Dead. Plexus Publishing. September 15, 2014. ISBN 978-0859658881.
  3. ^ Saperstein, Pat (October 13, 2016). "John Vulich, Makeup Artist on 'Buffy,' 'X-Files,' Dies at 55". Variety. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  4. ^ M. Lentz III, Harris (August 11, 2017). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2016. McFarland. p. 410. ISBN 978-1476629124. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  5. ^ a b c "Babylon 5". Emmys. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d "Buffy The Vampire Slayer". Emmys. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  7. ^ "The X-Files". Emmys. Retrieved 30 May 2018.