In Memoriam

Screaming Mad George

1956 — 2026

What happened

According to his family’s public statement, Joji Tani died in February 2026, aged 69, of cardiac arrest. He collapsed at home and spent four days in intensive care without regaining consciousness. He is survived by his wife Miki and his daughter Alice.

His family held the news privately for about six months and posted the announcement on August 16, 2026. We had to find our footing before stepping into the public eye, they said. A public memorial is expected in February 2027.

His family’s words

“In loving memory of Screaming Mad George. With love and gratitude, we are sharing this announcement with everyone who knew, loved, worked with, learned from, or was inspired by George. Thank you for remembering him, his work, and the extraordinary world he created.”

— posted to @screamingmadgeorge, August 16, 2026

They described him as cheerful, approachable and warm-hearted — and wrote that although he was called a genius, he never spared himself the work.

What he made with his hands

He left Osaka for New York after high school, studied at the School of Visual Arts, and fronted The Mad at CBGB, tearing latex guts open on stage. That was where the effects work started.

The shunting. The cockroach. The Zoanoids. The finger-eyeball creature and the failed experiments. Manson’s alien body, hide’s third eye, Yoshiki chained to a wall George built. A pinball game set inside a body. And from 2019, a guest professorship in Osaka, teaching sculpting, mold-making and animatronics to students.

In his last years he also ran a YouTube series, MAD CLUB (マッドクラブ), co-hosted with his daughter Alice — shop talk, teaching demos, exhibition visits, and discussion of his older work.

“I like the idea of doing something unreal but doing it so realistically that everyone gets nauseated.”

— Screaming Mad George, to the Los Angeles Times, 1985

Tributes

  • “RIP to my dear friend, and master artist, Screaming Mad George. I’m so glad we were able to meet up in Tokyo a couple of years ago.”

    — Alex Winter , co-director, Freaked

  • “My personal hero, Screaming Mad George, has passed away. The reason I’m in this industry today is because when I was a sophomore in high school, I saw George on television and was inspired to become a special makeup effects artist.”

    — AKIHITO , sculptor

  • “An entire generation of horror fans were birthed from your blend of surrealism and carnality. Your contributions to the genre flowed from the grotesque to the dynamically impossible.”

    — Fangoria

Sources: the family’s statement of August 16, 2026; obituaries in Dread Central, The A.V. Club, Kotaku, Time Extension, Eiga Natalie and Cinema Today; and tribute posts by Alex Winter, AKIHITO and Fangoria. The English-language press reports the date as February 10; the family said only “February”, so this page says February.