--- title: H.R. Giger, "Alien" Creator and Surreal Swiss Artist, Dead at 74 description: The Swiss artist created the designs for the hissing, acid-blooded xenomorph in Ridley Scott's haunting "Alien" canonical: https://time.com/97289/h-r-giger-alien-dead/ author: Laura Stampler article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-13T12:03:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:08:24.662Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: "Alien" artist H.R. Giger—maker of the perfect movie monster— died at 74 og:description: The Swiss artist created the designs for the hissing, acid-blooded xenomorph in Ridley Scott's haunting "Alien" og:url: https://time.com/97289/h-r-giger-alien-dead/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt633c59a6a916a338/69868f0c3bc9994e581a36d4/50406383.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: H. R. Giger og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: "Alien" artist H.R. Giger—maker of the perfect movie monster— died at 74 twitter:description: The Swiss artist created the designs for the hissing, acid-blooded xenomorph in Ridley Scott's haunting "Alien" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt633c59a6a916a338/69868f0c3bc9994e581a36d4/50406383.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # H.R. Giger, Creator Of The Perfect Movie Monster, Dead at 74 by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler May 13, 2014 12:03 PM UTC  Visual artist H. R. Giger taking off face mask. Visual artist H. R. Giger taking off face mask.Dana Frank—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler May 13, 2014 12:03 PM UTC Swiss artist H.R. Giger, who haunted movie goers by creating Ridley Scott’s _Alien_, died Monday at the age of 74\. A representative from his museum[ told the _Associated Press_](http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304536104579559451468835542)that he died from injuries sustained from a fall. Giger was born in Chur, Switzerland in 1940 and became famous for creating nightmarish landscapes and surreal creatures in Hollywood science fiction films. The sculptor, artist, and set designer began working in movies in 1975 on Alejandro Jodorowsky’s uncompleted _Dune_ remake, but came to prominence with the creation ofthe nightmarish creature in _Alien_ (1979).Ridley Scott was inspired by Giger’s book _Necronomicon_ and hired the artist to work on the film. He later went on to work on films including _Poltergeist II_ and _Species_. Here Giger is with his alien progeny: > [](https://twitter.com/dantelechat/status/466132476415725568) He won an Academy Award for Best Achievement for Visual Effects for _Alien_ and was named into the Science Fiction and Fantasy hall of Fame in 2013:  PRESENTERS FARRAH FAWCETT AND HAROLD RUSSELL (R) WITH BEST VISUAL EFFECTS OSCAR WINNERS (2ND FROM L-R): H.R. GIGER, CARLO RAMBALDI, BRIAN JOHNSON, NICK ALLDER, DENYS AYLING ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images Giger’s work lived beyond the screen:  Swiss artist H.R. Giger poses with two of his works at the art museum in Chur, Switzerland. AP He even created monstrous microphone stands for the band Korn:  Korn in Manchester, England. Shirlaine Forrest—Getty Images Details on survivors and funeral arrangements haven’t yet been released. \[[_AP_](http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304536104579559451468835542)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/97289/h-r-giger-alien-dead/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/97289/h-r-giger-alien-dead/"},"headline":"H.R. 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