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 five months and posted the announcement on 16 August 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, 16 August 2026

They described him as cheerful, approachable and warm-hearted — and noted that although he was often called a genius, he was defined just as much by how hard he worked.

What he made with his hands

He left Osaka for New York after high school, studied fine art at the School of Visual Arts, and ended up screaming at CBGB as the frontman of The Mad — tearing latex guts open on stage. The effects career started there, on a stage, in front of people.

The shunting. The cockroach. The Zoanoids. The finger-eyeball creature and the failed experiments. The Predator’s weathered bio-mask. Manson’s body, hide’s third eye, Yoshiki bound in metal roots. A pinball game set inside a body. Then, at the end, a professorship in Osaka, teaching sculpting and mold-making and animatronics to people young enough to be his grandchildren.

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.

“Doing something unreal — but doing it so realistically that everyone gets nauseated.”

— Screaming Mad George

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 , 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 16 August 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 10 February; the family said only “February”, so this page says February.