Steve LaPorte Steve E . LaPorte is an Academy Award winning makeup artist who worked as special effects makeup artist for the Burman Studio on . He received no credit for this work . LaPorte is known for his work as makeup department head for J . J . Abrams ' mystery series " Lost " ( 2004 - 2009 ) on which he worked with Veronica Lorenz . LaPorte was born in Oklahoma City , Oklahoma and attended the Oklahoma State Tech where he graduated in 1974 . In his last year at the State Tech he auditioned for the Ringling Bros . & Barnum & Bailey ' s Clown College and was accepted . He studied theatrical makeup , costume , prop making , and prosthetics and toured between 1975 and 1978 as clown , high stilt walker , and for two years as boss clown through the country . He later moved to California and started his career as a professional makeup artist for film and television . For his work on ' s fantasy comedy " Beetle Juice " in 1988 , LaPorte was awarded with an Academy Award for Best Makeup , shared with Ve Neill and Robert Short . The team also won a Saturn Award for Best Make - up in 1990 and was nominated for a BAFTA Film Award for Best Make Up Artist in 1989 . Visual Effects artist Dale Brady and hair stylist Yolanda Toussieng also worked on this film . LaPorte was three times nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Makeup for a Miniseries or a Special / Outstanding Makeup for a Series in 1993 for the drama mini series " Queen " , 1996 for the science fiction television movie " Alien Nation : Body and Soul " , shared with Rick Stratton , Richard Snell , David Abbott , Craig Reardon , Janna Phillips , Kenny Myers , and Jill Rockow , and in 2000 for the " Angel " episode " The Ring " , shared with Dayne Johnson , David DeLeon , Rick Stratton , Jill Rockow , Toby Lamm , Earl Ellis , and Robert Maverick . In 1999 he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Makeup for a Series for " " episodes " " and " " , shared with Mark Shostrom , Rick Stratton , Jake Garber , Craig Reardon , Kevin Haney , and Perri Sorel . Further recognitions include a Cable ACE Award nomination for Makeup in 1991 for the fantasy musical " Mother Goose Rock ' n ' Rhyme " and two Saturn Award nominations for Best Make - up in 1988 for the horror film " The Lost Boys " , shared with Ve Neill and Greg Cannom , and in 2005 for the fantasy action film " Van Helsing " , shared with Greg Cannom . Since 1980 he worked as special effects makeup artist on projects such as the horror film " Terror on Tour " ( 1980 ) , ' s horror film " The Howling " ( 1981 , with Greg Cannom ) , the comedy " Under the Rainbow " ( 1981 , along with Fred B . Phillips , Joy Zapata , and Rick Stratton ) , the science fiction film " Spacehunter : Adventures in the Forbidden Zone " ( 1983 , with Susan Boyd , Dale Brady , Rob Burman , Thomas R . Burman , and Ellis Burman , Jr . ) , the science fiction film " The Ice Pirates " ( 1984 , with Lola McNalley ) , the science fiction film " The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension " ( 1984 , with Bari Dreiband - Burman and Tom Woodruff , Jr . ) , ' s drama " The Color Purple " ( 1985 , with Richard Alonzo ) , the thriller " Extremities " ( 1986 ) , the action comedy " The Golden Child " ( 1986 ) , the science fiction thriller " The Running Man " ( 1987 , with Jeff Dawn , Nina Kent , James Lee McCoy , and Richard Snell ) , the comedy " Caddyshack II " ( 1988 ) , the horror comedy " Elvira , Mistress of the Dark " ( 1988 , with Lisa Meyers ) , the science fiction film " Alien Nation " ( 1989 , with R . Christopher Biggs and Rick Stratton ) , the fantasy drama " Edward Scissorhands " ( 1990 , with Ve Neill , Kim Santantonio , Rick Stratton , Yolanda Toussieng , and Brad Wilder ) , the drama " Thelma & Louise " ( 1991 ) , the science fiction sequel " Terminator 2 : Judgment Day " ( 1991 ) , the comedy " Mr . Saturday Night " ( 1992 ) , the science fiction comedy " Coneheads " ( 1993 ) , the fantasy comedy " Addams Family Values " ( 1993 ) , the action thriller " The Specialist " ( 1994 ) , the television series " Lois & Clark : The New Adventures of Superman " ( 1995 , starring Teri Hatcher and K Callan and with Denise Crosby and Tony Jay ) , the drama " Powder " ( 1995 ) , and the horror thriller " The Relic " ( 1997 ) . LaPorte was the personal makeup artist for late actor on the comedies " Out to Sea " ( 1997 ) and " The Odd Couple II " ( 1998 ) . Further credits include the horror film " Deep Blue Sea " ( 1999 , with Allan A . Apone , Jeff Dawn , Jim Kail , and Clinton Wayne ) , " The West Wing " pilot episode ( 1999 , with David Abbott ) , the science fiction comedy " Galaxy Quest " ( 1999 ) , ' s fantasy comedy " How the Grinch Stole Christmas " ( 2000 ) , the television series " ER " , the fantasy adventure " The Scorpion King " ( 2002 ) , the science fiction sequel " Terminator 3 : Rise of the Machines " ( 2003 ) , and the action film " The Rundown " ( 2003 ) . More recently he served as second unit key makeup artist on the science fiction thriller " Surrogates " ( 2009 , with Jeff Dawn , Mark Landon , and Cristina Patterson Ceret ) .