H.R. Giger.

Suffering from night terrors, Giger kept an artist’s pad by his bed to draw his nightmares, a practice that directly influenced his monster designs for Alien 1979. Born 5 February 1940 in Chur, Switzerland, he grew up speaking German and studied at the Zurich University of the Arts, developing his biomechanical style.

In 1979, Giger’s design for the Xenomorph in Ridley Scott’s Alien earned him an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. His fear of flying required Scott to visit him in Switzerland to discuss the creature’s early concepts. Giger later worked on Aliens 1986 and Species 1995. Outside film, he designed the cover art for Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s Brain Salad Surgery, which was initially too explicit for store shelves, and a poster for the Dead Kennedys’ Frankenchrist that led to the arrest of frontman Jello Biafra. He also designed a microphone stand for Korn vocalist Jonathan Davis.

Giger married twice: first to Mia Bonzanigo from 1979 to 1981, and then to Carmen Maria Scheifele from 2006 until his death in 2014. He had a relationship with Swiss actress Li Tobler until her suicide in 1975. Night terrors and a fear of flying plagued him; his aviophobia required Ridley Scott to visit him at home during the design of Alien.

Giger’s Xenomorph design revolutionized science-fiction horror, influencing creature designs in films like Alien and Species. He was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2013. His provocative album covers remain striking examples of 1970s surrealist art. Giger died on 12 May 2014 in Zurich from injuries from a fall, leaving behind a legacy of biomechanical nightmares that still influence artists and filmmakers.