Name Kevin Pike | Education University of Hartford | |
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Born May 9, 1951 (age 72) ( 1951-05-09 ) Hartford, Connecticut Occupation Special Effects Supervisor/Talent Agent Role Special effects supervisor Children Jackson Pike, Camille Pike, Jennifer Pike Awards Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Special Visual Effects Nominations BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects Similar People Bob Gale, Dean Cundey, Harry Keramidas, Lawrence G Paull, Neil Canton | ||
John Kevin Pike (born 9 May 1951) is an American film special effects supervisor. Pike is best known for supervising the visual effects on the 1985 film Back to the Future and as one of the main crew members who built the modifications to create the film's iconic DeLorean time machine.
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Life and career
Pike was born in Hartford Connecticut to John Thomas Pike and Barbara Ann Clapp. He showed interest in the arts at an early age by making his own 8mm films. While attending Granby Memorial High School he served as President of the Drama Club for all four years during which he won best actor in 1967 for his role in The Apollo of Bellac. Pike graduated high school in 1969 and later studied Business Management at the University of Hartford.
Pike’s film career began in April 1974, while working as a busboy at the Harborside Restaurant in Martha's Vineyard, after a chance encounter with the first film crew of Jaws (1974) to arrive on the island. Pike was hired onto the film as a local doing set construction, painting of the shark, and ended up working with the Special Effects crew. After Jaws, Pike came out to Hollywood and continued his work in Special Effects with the major studios for film, television, and commercials. His work has served directors such as Robert Zemeckis, John Schlesinger, Taylor Hackford, David Fincher, Tim Burton, Wes Craven, George Lucas, and numerous projects for Steven Spielberg.
Pike has earned nominations and awards including a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Special Visual Effects for the Amblin Television Production Earth 2 in 1995, a Clio Award for Best Special Effects on a Levi’s commercial directed by Michael Bay in 2000. He also received a BAFTA nomination, and was considered for Oscar nomination on Back to the Future. He is also a Director with the DGA and a member of SAG. Pike has lectured at USC, UCLA, and Columbia College Hollywood as well as teaching Special Effects classes at the Academy of Art University. Additionally, Pike continues to serve as a Governor for the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and on the Executive Committee for the Visual Effects Branch for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Kevin Pike currently lives in Sherman Oaks, California where he manages his company, The Filmtrix Agency, representing below the line talent, composers, writers, and directors.
Films
The following is a list of the most notable films with special effects by Kevin Pike.