I remember being on Facebook a few years ago when the news broke that filmmaker / special effects artist Ryan Nicholson had collapsed right after a project he was working on wrapped. As it turned out, that incident was the start of a fight with brain cancer that has now come to a sad conclusion. Nicholson's wife Megan posted on his Facebook page,
I am greatly saddened to let all his friends and fans know this heartbreaking news. Ryan’s fight with cancer has come to an end. He fought with dignity and looked it right in the face. He made a lot of others with cancer feel strong and gave them the fight they needed. He made everyone who talked to him laugh and feel like today is the best day. He did that every day. Every day with Ryan was a great day. He loved you all and wanted to make you all proud. As Ryan would say, much love bro!"
Nicholson's career in special makeup effects stretches back to the mid-'90s, and over the last twenty-five years he racked up over 135 credits in that department, working on projects like THE 13TH WARRIOR, FINAL DESTINATION, SCARY MOVIE, DREAMCATCHER, THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK, BLADE: TRINITY, GHOST RIDER, BLOOD FEAST, BLAIR WITCH, IT STAINS THE SANDS RED, DEADPOOL 2, and THE PREDATOR.
Nicholson also found time to write and direct his own films between FX gigs. His directorial credits include TORCHED, LIVE FEED, GUTTERBALLS, HANGER, FAMINE, DEAD NUDE GIRLS, and COLLAR. As his IMDb bio page notes, Nicholson's films were known for "high levels of gore and splatter, usually including severe genital mutilation."
For a while it looked like Nicholson might have beaten the cancer, making it all the more awful that it came back and took his life, and at such a young age. Nicholson was only in his 40s.
Our condolences go out to his family, friends, and fans.