Today we celebrate the 70th birthday of a makeup effects legend.
There are a small handful of artists who forever changed the face of the horror genre, and Tom Savini is undoubtedly one of them. When it comes to gory practical effects, nobody did it better than Savini, and his gruesome contributions to films like Friday the 13th, Creepshow, and Day of the Dead played no small part in each of those films becoming beloved classics.
We don’t call him the Sultan of Splatter for nothing.
In addition to his standout makeup work, Savini has of course also acted in countless films and he was even the director of the awesome 1990 remake of Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. Savini can currently be seen in “From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series,” a return to the franchise he helped make memorable back in 1996, and he’s also teaching the youth of America how to create monsters, rip out innards, and just generally keep the art of practical effects alive and kicking.
Back in the 1980s, at the height of the practical effects movement, Savini appeared on “Late Night With David Letterman” on three separate occasions, in 1985, 1986, and 1987. Promoting films like Creepshow 2 and Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Savini showed off his handiwork to Letterman, and he also saw to it that the late night host was properly maimed and mutilated.
The segments were always a blast, and we invite you to revisit them today.
For all you do and have done, Mr. Savini, we thank you. Happy birthday.
