This Gorn-like green lizard mask was made by renowned creature effects artist Stuart Freeborn, known for his work on the Star Wars films, for a 1977 television pilot called Spectre produced by Gene Roddenberry. Spectre was a low-budget sci-fi pilot in the vein of Star Trek (and some of the included production documents were labeled “Star Trek” by Freeborn.) The pilot starred Robert Culp, Gig Young, Majel Barrett, Ann Bell and John Hurt, and was made in the UK.
The mask features a foam latex skin, resin teeth, and is built up over a biscuit-foam underskull that is actually a casting from the Chewbacca underskull mold. Freeborn had the Chewbacca underskull mold to hand and therefore it was a logical basis for this Gorn-like character named Asmodius. The character was seen at the end of the film when Mitri Cyon (John Hurt) transformed into it.
Included with the mask is a photograph of Freeborn and son Graham Freeborn working on the construction of the mask. Also included is a set of production documents, featuring handwritten notes from Freeborn and including things like actor make-up charts, information about the production, and a contract.
Of note to Star Wars fans is that the piece was present in Freeborn’s workshop during the making of The Empire Strikes Back, and can be seen in a video clip within “The Making of The Empire Strikes Back” e-book. It exhibits many of the same characteristics as Freeborn’s Star Wars aliens.
The mask shows signs of wear from age and use, including some cracking and drying of the foam latex, but remains in overall good condition. The documents in the production binder show some wear such as creases and slight tears but remain in overall good condition.