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{{Infobox person
| name               = Kevin Pike
| image              = 
| caption            = 
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|1951|05|9}}
| birth_place        = [[Hartford, Connecticut]]
| death_date         = 
| death_place        = 
| other_names        = 
| known_for          = 
| occupation         = Special effects supervisor/talent agent/screenwriting consultant
}}
'''J. Kevin Pike''' (born 9 May 1951) is an American [[film]] [[special effects supervisor]], former below-the-line talent agent, and screenwriting consultant. Pike is best known for supervising the Special Effects of the 1985 film ''[[Back to the Future]]''. He and his company Filmtrix, Inc. were responsible for the construction of the film's iconic [[DeLorean Time Machine]].

==Life and career==
Pike was born in [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford Connecticut]] to John Thomas Pike and Barbara Ann Clapp. He showed interest in the arts at an early age by making his own 8mm films. While attending Granby Memorial High School he served as President of the Drama Club for all four years during which he won Best Actor in 1967 for his role in ''[[The Apollo of Bellac]]''. Pike graduated high school in 1969 and later studied Business Management at the [[University of Hartford]].

Pike’s film career began in April 1974, while working as a busboy at the Harborside Restaurant in [[Martha's Vineyard]], after a chance encounter with the first film crew of ''[[Jaws (film)|Jaws]]'' (1974) to arrive on the island. Pike was hired onto the film as a local doing set construction, painting of the shark, and ended up working with the Special Effects crew. After Jaws, Pike came out to Hollywood and continued his work in Special Effects with the major studios for film, television, and commercials. His work has served on numerous projects for [[Steven Spielberg]] and directors such as [[Robert Zemeckis]], [[John Schlesinger]], [[Taylor Hackford]], [[David Fincher]], [[Tim Burton]], [[Wes Craven]], and [[George Lucas]].

He has also been a [[Director (film)|Director]] with the [[Directors Guild of America|DGA]] since 1985, after garnering a series of commercials for [[Mattel]] and Second Unit directing. He is also a member of [[Screen Actors Guild|SAG]]/[[American Federation of Television and Radio Artists|AFTRA]] and [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts|BAFTA]]. Pike has lectured at [[University of Southern California|USC]], [[UCLA]], and [[Columbia College Hollywood]] as well as teaching Special Effects classes at the [[Academy of Art University]]. Additionally, Pike has served as a Governor for the [[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences|Academy of Television Arts and Sciences]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.emmys.tv/board-governors/special-visual-effects |title=Emmy Board of Governors |access-date=2011-11-07 |archive-date=2013-08-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130823030757/http://www.emmys.tv/board-governors/special-visual-effects |url-status=dead }}</ref> and on the Executive Committee for the Visual Effects Branch for the [[AMPAS|Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]].

Kevin Pike lives north of Los Angeles, California, where he manages his company,  Filmtrix, Inc.  He is a writer’s consultant and a story developer for studios and production entities, helping writers complete their scripts and advising them on how to pitch their written work to producers and developers. He has three children; Jennifer Pike, [[Camille Pike]], and Jackson Pike.

== Awards ==
Pike has earned nominations and awards including a [[Emmy Award|Primetime Emmy Award]] for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects|Outstanding Individual Achievement in Special Visual Effects]] for the Amblin Television Production ''[[Earth 2 (TV series)|Earth 2]]'' in 1995,<ref>[http://www.emmys.com/shows/earth-2 Earth 2 Emmy Awards and Nominations]</ref> a [[Clio Awards|Clio Award]] for Best Special Effects on a Levi’s commercial directed by [[Michael Bay]] in 2000. 

He also received a [[BAFTA Award|BAFTA]] nomination,<ref>[http://www.bafta.org/awards/film/nominations/?year=1985 BAFTA Awards and Nominations 1985]</ref> and was considered for [[Academy Award|Oscar]] nomination on ''Back to the Future''. 

== Films ==
The following is a list of the most notable films with special effects by Kevin Pike.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
'''1970s'''
* ''[[Jaws (film)|Jaws]]'' (1975)
* ''[[Close Encounters of the Third Kind]]'' (1977)
* ''[[Jaws 2]]'' (1978)
*  ''[[The Frisco Kid]]'' (1979)
* ''[[Star Trek: The Motion Picture]]'' (1979)
* ''[[1941 (film)|1941]]'' (1979)
'''1980s'''
* ''[[Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom]]'' (1984)
* ''[[The Last Starfighter]]'' (1984)
* ''[[Back to the Future]]'' (1985)
* ''[[Moonwalker]]'' (1988)
{{col-break}}
'''1990s'''
* ''[[Ed Wood (film)|Ed Wood]]'' (1994)
* ''[[Fight Club (film)|Fight Club]]'' (1999)
'''2000s'''
* ''[[Jurassic Park III]]'' (2001)
* ''[[44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-Out|44 Minutes]]'' (2003)
* ''[[Feast (2005 film)|Feast]]'' (2005)
* ''[[Ask the Dust (film)|Ask the Dust]]'' (2006)
{{col-end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* [http://www.filmtrix.com/specialeffects/bio.html Kevin Pike Biography (1951-)]
*<ref>{{Cite journal|last=De Santis|first=Solange|date=August 1985|title=Steven Spielberg Builds a Time Machine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eeMDAAAAMBAJ|journal=Popular Mechanics|pages=84–87,132|via=Google Books}}</ref>
*

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|0683234}}

{{Saturn Award for Best Special Effects}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Pike, Kevin}}
[[Category:1951 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American special effects people]]
[[Category:Special effects coordinators]]
[[Category:University of Hartford alumni]]
[[Category:Artists from Hartford, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Primetime Emmy Award winners]]
[[Category:Academy of Art University faculty]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Kevin Pike|access_date=2026-03-04}}