Twenty Something Yak

You may remember who won the Oscar for the Best Actor in 2009 (Sean Penn in Milk) and who was the winner in the Best Actress category ( Kate Winslet in The Reader) but chances are you have no idea who won the coveted statue for Achievement in Makeup. That’s not too surprising since that particular award does not get much media attention- or any attention- outside of the industry. It was not until 1964 that the makeup artists were even recognized at the Academy Awards and that was an Honorary Award given to William Tuttle for his work on the movie The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao. Another Honorary Award was given in 1968 to John Chambers for The Planet of the Apes. Finally the artistry of those who make the stars look great or scary or unbelievable received recognition on a yearly basis starting in 1982 when the Academy Awards designated the Achievement in Makeup category. The winner in that year was Rick Baker for his talent shown in the movie An American Werewolf in London. Baker has since gone on to win several more Awards.

Tuttle may have received the first public acknowledgement of makeup artists for the screen but he was not the first of his breed. There were many who paved the way for him and his colleagues but most of them are unknown. There are several, though, whose names are still recognized as being the founders of the trade. When movies first began, back in the late 1890’s, most of the actors transferred from the theater stage. Theater actors applied their own makeup and did their own hair and so, when actors migrated to the new field of film, that tradition carried on. There were a few, however, who had such an adept hand at the task that they were asked by their fellow actors to apply their makeup. One of those talented artists was Cecil Howard. Howard (1887-1973) was, in the beginning, an actor and played his first role in the 1914 movie, The Mystery of the Seven Chests. He continued acting until 1927 although he found his true calling as a makeup artist starting in 1920 in the movie Go and Get It. Over the years, Howard was responsible for the makeup of many actors including Boris Karloff in The Mask of Fu Manchu. Although largely unrecognized in the early years of filmdom, he is now acknowledged as the Father of the Makeup Profession. He wrote the first book on the subject, “The Art of Make-up for Stage and Screen”, in 1927, and he was the first head of the Makeup Department for the MGM Studio.

George Westmore is known as the patriarch of Hollywood Makeup Artists. Born in England in 1879, he and his family emigrated to America in the early 1900’s and he headed for Hollywood. He was known as a wigmaker but soon realized that the area of makeup opened up new opportunities. Westmore founded the first makeup and hair department ever in 1917 at Metro Pictures. He had seven sons and they all followed in their father’s footsteps. Many of his grandchildren also have stayed in the family business and in October of 2008 the Westmores, as a family of makeup artists, were honored with a Star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Maxmillian Factorowitz was born in 1877 in what we now call Poland but was then part of Imperial Russia. He was apprenticed to a pharmacist where he learned to make his own crèmes and rouges. Because of the quality of his work he was appointed the cosmetic expert for the Russian Royal family and the Imperial Russian Grand Opera. In 1904 he and his family emigrated to St. Louis, MO, America where he sold his cosmetics at the 1904 World’s Fair. In 1908, he moved his family to Los Angeles to be part of the burgeoning film industry. By this time he was known as Max Factor, a name in cosmetics that is still recognized today. Factor’s great contribution to the screen makeup industry was a specifically formulated greasepaint. In 1914 he perfected a greasepaint that would stand up to the hot lots and not cake and crack as did the greasepaint that had been used before on both stage and on screen. He also was responsible for the breakthrough of 12 graduated shades of greasepaint.

Lon Chaney is more often remembered for his acting than for his role in the makeup industry but his contributions are legendary. He, like many of his fellow actors, did his own makeup and many of his characters were of the more bizarre, frightening visage than his colleagues. Chaney, known as The Man with the 1000 Faces, made his own mask for the silent movie, The Phantom of the Opera in 1925 and was the originator of the makeup and costume in his portrayal of Quasimoto in The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1923. His expertise is morphing himself via makeup into totally different characters has inspired makeup artists for years.

Without a doubt, makeup artists in the world of film owe a great deal to these early pioneers. Of course, makeup artists ply their trade in other businesses besides the world of film. You can find these artisans in theater, TV, modeling and photography, and your local beauty salon. But none of these positions would even exist without the work and dedication of the early makeup masters in the movies. So, a small salute with the makeup brush to Westmore and Howard and Factor and Chaney and all the unsung makeup artists of times long gone. Oh, and the Academy Award for Achievement in Makeup for 2009? That would be Greg Cannon for his amazing work in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.