One of the greatest special effects make-up artists and creature creators is gone.

Screaming Mad George, whose iconic work in horror films such as A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, The Guyver, and Freaked, has passed away at the age of 69 in Japan. He has actually passed away in February 2026 but at the request of his family, decided to keep it private in order to mourn, but his death was officially announced today.

Born Joji Tani on October 7, 1956 in Osaka, Japan, Tani gave himself the English name “George” when he emigrated to the United States to attend the School of Visual Arts in New York City. With a love of singer Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and MAD Magazine, Tani would soon become known as “Screaming Mad George”.

Aside from his work as a SFX master, George was also a punk rock musician who played with a band in the late 1970s called…The Mad. It was the band’s music videos that would lead him to work in the film industry, highlighting his trademark love of horror and creature works.

While some of his early work can be seen in films like Big Trouble in Little China and A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, his broke out among fans when he turned Brooke Theiss’s character of Debbie into a human-sized cockroach in A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, which also featured SFX by Steve Johnson and others.

He returned to Japan to work on the SFX for Tokyo: The Last War and returned to the U.S. to become a frequent collaborator with producer Brian Yuzna. Their collaborations include the underrated horror cult classic Society, the first-live action Guyver (which George co-directed and worked on SFX with Steve Wang), Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation and Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker. He also did the SFX for Alex Winter’s directorial debut Freaked in 1993 and also worked on Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest and did some uncredited work on This is the End in 2013.

George is survived by his wife Miki and daughter Alice.

We will forever remember the “Rock Star SFX God” in Screaming Mad George. Here is Rotten Tomatoes’ video of his iconic transformation of Brooke Theiss’ Debbie into a cockroach in A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. Rest in Peace, Screaming Mad George.