 He sketched and built models since early childhood, and eventually attended the New England School of Art and Design in Boston.Following his graduation, he married his wife Jackie and they moved to California, where he worked for Douglas Aircraft; on the side, he drew artwork for various science fiction magazines, eventually meeting noted literary agent - and founding creative director/editor of the long-running monster magazine "Famous Monsters of Filmland" - Forrest J Ackerman, who ended up becoming his agent.In 1955, Blaisdell was hired to create the creature effects for Roger Corman's low-budget film "The Beast with a Million Eyes", after which he spent several years designing the monsters for a number of B movies, earning a reputation for working quickly and cheaply.