Background
Jerry Macaluso was born in Hartford, Connecticut and is the eldest of four siblings.
Jerry Macaluso was born in Hartford, Connecticut and is the eldest of four siblings.
At the age of 17, Macaluso entered the field of special effects makeup assisting Norman Cabrera on the set of the horror film Scarecrows. A year later he became the special makeup designer on the film The Unholy. Shortly thereafter, Macaluso was hired to re-create Toxie for The Toxic Avenger Participant II, Troma"s sequel to the cult classic The Toxic Avenger.
The next several years were spent creating effects for such films as Darkman, The Indian in the Cupboard, Spawn, the Weird Science television series and Gods and Monsters.
In the late 1990s, Macaluso formed a toy development company called SOTA Sculpture and Design which designed and created action figure prototypes for Hasbro, Mattel, Toy Biz, ReSaurus and Palisades Toys, among others In 2001 a new company called Plastic Fantasy was created.
Plastic Fantasy designed and manufactured action figures of porn stars including Jenna Jameson, Brianna Banks, Christy Canyon and Asia Carrera. The company"s products have been featured on The Tonight Show, Nightline and Newsweek.
SOTA Toy"s horror themed line, Now Playing, featuring characters from such iconic films as The Thing, Darkman, Tremors, Saw and Dog Soldiers.
In 2005 Macaluso began producing horror films under the Karza Productions and Centuri Films labels. The first film, Night Skies, is based on the true story of six travellers in Phoenix, Arizona who are terrorized by an unknown creature during the night of the Phoenix Lights incident on March 13, 1997. In 2008 a new company, People’s Culture Shock Collectibles, Incorporated, was formed.
This company makes collectibles based on popular popular culture properties such as Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter and ThunderCats.
In January 2012, Macaluso, was a contestant on the second season of the SyFy special effects competition reality show Face Office, where he placed 7th.