John Vulich (1961 – October 12, 2016) was an American make-up effects artist and co-founder of Optic Nerve Studios.
Early life 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.
Special effects career Vulich continued working on 80's monster movies, including Ghoulies, Day of the Dead, and The Lost Boys. In 1989 Vulich decided to open his own company, Optic Nerve Studios, with Everett Burrell.
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.
Awards Year Award Title Results Ref 1991 Saturn Award for Best Make-Up Night of the Living Dead 1993 The Dark Half 1994 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Makeup for a Series Babylon 5 1995 1997 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Makeup for a Series Buffy the Vampire Slayer 1998 Babylon 5: In the Beginning Buffy the Vampire Slayer 1999 1999 The X-Files 2002 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Makeup for a Series (Prosthetic) Buffy the Vampire Slayer
References