HR Giger, the Swiss surrealist artist who designed the Alien Xenomorph, has died at the age of 74.
Giger passed away in hospital on Monday (May 12) after sustaining injuries in a fall, SRF News Online reports.
Born Hans Rudolf Giger in Chur, Switzerland, he studied Architecture and industrial design in Zurich before finding fame in the art world with his book Necronomicon, a compendium of HP Lovecraft-inspired images.
His work came to the attention of Ridley Scott, who hired him to create the titular creature for his 1979 sci-fi horror Alien.
Giger won an Academy Award for his work on the film in 1980, and his iconic Alien design endured across three sequels and a pair of Alien vs Predator spinoff movies.
He returned to the series in 1992 to work with David Fincher on Alien 3 before working on cult ’90s horror Species. Years earlier he did extensive work on Alejandro Jodorowsky’s unmade Dune project.
Giger also directed a number of documentaries, including Swiss Made and A New Face of Debbie Harry.
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