Artist H. R. Giger, the mind behind the designs of ‘Alien,’ dies at 74

Acclaimed surrealist painter, sculptor, and set designer H.R Giger died on Monday.

After falling down a flight of stairs at his museum in western Switzerland, Giger passed in the hospital reports ABC.

H.R Giger was born February 5th, 1940 in Chur, Switzerland. Despite his middle class upbringing, and his father’s modest profession as a local pharmacist, Giger developed a taste for Lovecraft and the dark fantastic according to his official website.

Giger is perhaps best known for his Academy-Award wining design work on Ridley Scott’s Alien. The surreal biomechanical ships and creatures he created changed the entire landscape of science fiction on film, and his influence can still be felt on the genre today (see: Prometheus, Man of Steel, etc). He’s also responsible for the best concept art that was never produced—ranging from designs for the legendary unproduced Alejandro Jorodowsky Dune, all the way to a Batmobile mock-up for Shumaker’s Batman Forever .

Last year, Giger was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, joining such genre legends as H.G Wells and J.R.R Tolkien. Though he is gone, his unique, creepy, and utterly wonderful style will live on in the history of film.