Oscar-nominated Roger Dicken dies aged 84: Special effects artist famed for his work on Alien and When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth passes away

Oscar-nominated special effects Roger Dicken, known for his work on Alien and When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, has died aged 84. 

The VFX artist, sculptor and model maker passed away on February 18 at his home in North Wales, his friend of five decades Mick Cooper revealed to The Hollywood Reporter. 

Born on April 15, 1939, in Portsmouth, Hampshire, Roger Maxwell Dicken would go on to sculpt incredible figures for acclaimed flicks. 

The first film Roger worked on was Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968, but it was When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth in 1970 that Roger that earned Roger his nod.

Having sculpted several prehistoric creatures, including two full-sized pterodactyl feet, Roger shared an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects with animator Jim Danforth - but the pair lost out to Disney film Bedknobs and Broomsticks.

Oscar-nominated special effects Roger Dicken (left), known for his work on Alien and When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, has died aged 84

The VFX artist, sculptor and model maker (left) passed away on February 18 at his home in North Wales, his friend of five decades Mick Cooper revealed to The Hollywood Reporter

In an interview with Ken Miller for Film Extremes magazine in 1992, Roger spoke of creating the killing creature in Alien which attacks Executive Officer Kane, played by John Hurt.

He said: 'I got underneath the set with my activated hand-operated alien, and it was this, of course, that ended up appearing revoltingly through his body and pausing momentarily to twitch and breath, etc, before zipping off the table.

'Two assistants, holding simple squeeze bubbles fixed to plastic tubes, made the small sacs in the body pulsate, etc. 

'The monster’s exit was accomplished by pulling me along under the table, laying on a trolley with my arm holding the puppet, working it through a slot as it knocked off strategically placed utensils in the process of disappearing.'

However, Roger, who is survived by his wife Wendy, was not one of the five people who shared the Oscar nomination for Ridley Scott's Alien.

Roger spoke of his ambition to create one of the old gorilla suits from films from the 1940s, but said he only ever manged to create the overhead ape mask out of papier-mache then covered in fur. 

Born on April 15, 1939, in Portsmouth, Hampshire, Roger Maxwell Dicken would go on to sculpt incredible figures for acclaimed flicks

The first film Roger worked on was Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) but it was When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth in 1970 that Roger that earned Roger his nod

Having sculpted several prehistoric creatures, including two full-sized pterodactyl feet, Roger shared an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects with animator Jim Danforth - but the pair lost out to Disney film Bedknobs and Broomsticks

In an interview with Ken Miller for Film Extremes magazine in 1992, Roger spoke of creating the killing creature in Alien which attacks Executive Officer Kane, played by John Hurt

He said: 'I got underneath the set with my activated hand-operated alien, and it was this, of course, that ended up appearing revoltingly through his body and pausing momentarily to twitch and breath, etc, before zipping off the table'

'I scared the life out of a couple of local girls returning home from a dance late at night,' he said of the mask. 

Roger created and operated the dinosaur puppets in the 1974 flick The Land That Time Forgot. 

Throughout his career, he created many monsters and animals for films, including the moth monster for 1968's The Blood Beast Terror, which starred Peter Cushing, 

Roger also worked on Witchfinder General (1968), created bats for Scars of Dracula (1970), and octopuses for Warlords of the Deep (1978), among others.

However, Roger, who is survived by his wife Wendy, was not one of the five people who shared the Oscar nomination for Ridley Scott's Alien

Roger spoke of his ambition to create one of the old gorilla suits from films from the 1940s, but said he only ever manged to create the overhead ape mask out of papier-mache then covered in fur

Roger created and operated the dinosaur puppets in the 1974 flick The Land That Time Forgot