He was the man behind some of the best-known creatures in Hollywood history. He was the man who brought to life such characters as the killer doll Chucky from the Childs Play films and the Crypt Keeper from HBO's Tales From The Crypt series. Brock Winkless was a special effects puppeteer who has worked with the likes of James Cameron, Rick Baker, Stan Winston, and Kevin Yagher bringing creature and special effects monsters and characters to life.
Born in October of 1959, Brock showed a passion for puppets from an early age and once working in the Hollywood movie biz, he became the best at what he did. He was one of a few puppeteers who could accurately lip-sync the mouth of a character to the pre-recorded soundtrack of the actor playing the part of the character's dialogue. It was a trick he was well known for since it’s not easy to match the puppet's mouth movements to the vocalizations of an actor voicing the individual. Brock could nail it every time and it’s most noted in the two of his best-known characters Chucky and The Crypt Keeper.
Brock would play Chucky for the first four films, Childs Play 1,2, & 3 plus Bride of Chucky, my personal favorite of the bunch. He would also play The Crypt Keeper all throughout the Tales From The Crypt series from 1989 to 1995 plus puppeteer of the rotting character again for the first two Tales From The Crypt movies Demon Knight and Bordello of Blood.
His work though didn’t just span these two iconic creations. His resume also includes controlling the creature in the film Alien 3 where the beast was running and seen in wide shots. He puppeteered the attacking dog head and jaws in Man’s Best Friend, plus worked on non-horror films like Bill & Teds Bogus Journey, Honey, I Blew Up The Kid, Death Becomes Her, Casper, Congo, Terminator 2, Dr. Dolittle 2 and controlled the friendly Alien in Mac and Me.
Sadly this talented artist's time was short-lived as in 2001 with Dr. Dolittle 2 would be Brock’s last project. Brock would end up battling Multiple Sclerosis, a disease that would slowly rob him of his muscle control. Brock would fight this personal nightmare for 15 years when on July 18th, 2015 he passed away from complications from the disease at the age of only 55. Although Brock Winkless may have been only at his craft for a short time, he left a legacy of work behind for us all to watch and enjoy for years to come.
