Hollywood Creatures Under the Hammer

Special effects icon Rick Baker will tomorrow auction off memorabilia from a storied Hollywood career which has brought him seven Academy Awards.

The 64-year-old make-up artist and special effects designer is retiring and putting 417 items under the hammer at the Hilton Universal City on Friday.

They include everything from latex applications put on Michael Jackson for the “Thriller” video to creatures from “Gremlins 2.” Chatsworth memorabilia specialist Prop Store is handling the auction. Bidding can be done in person or via their website at propstore.com.

Baker created the special effects for the “Men in Black” franchise and a string of other hit films from “An American Werewolf in London” to “Maleficent.”

Big Bang Baccalaureate

Hit CBS sitcom Big Bang Theory follows the lives of young physicists, and now the show plans to help out some real-life UCLA students in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, programs.

The show has created a scholarship fund that has so far raised more than $4 million. The Big Bang Theory Scholarship Endowment has been funded by the show’s stars, producers and some crew members. The money will go to help 20 students, known as Big Bang Theory scholars, who are from lower-income backgrounds.

The scholarship marks the first time such an endowment has been created at UCLA by the cast of a TV show, the university said in a statement.