Jack Pierce (make-up artist)
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| Jack Pierce | |
 Jack Pierce working on Boris Karloff |
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| Born | May 5, 1889 Greece |
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| Died | July 19, 1968 Hollywood, California |
Jack Pierce (May 5, 1889 in Greece – July 19, 1968), born Janus Piccoulas, was a Hollywood make-up artist most famous for creating the iconic make-up worn by Boris Karloff in Universal Studios' 1931 adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
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[edit] Early career
After immigrating to the United States from Greece as a teenager, Pierce tried his hand at several careers, including a stint as an amateur baseball player. In the opportunist twenties, Pierce embarked on a series of jobs in cinema - cinema manager, stuntman, actor, even assistant director - which would eventually lead to his mastery of in the field of make-up. The small-statured Pierce was never a "leading man" type, and he put his performing career aside to specialize in make-ups on other performers. This all happened for Pierce in the year of 1915 when he was hired to work on crews for the studio's productions. It was on the 1926 set of "The Monkey Talks", Jack Pierce began creating the makeup for actor Jacques Lernier who was playing a simian with the ability to communicate. The head of Universal, Carl Laemmle was won over with the creative outcome. Next came the rictus-grin face of Conrad Veidt in The Man Who Laughs, two silent Universal pictures that audiences were astonished with. Pierce was then immediately hired full-time by the newly established Universal Pictures motion picture studio. The 1930 death of Lon Chaney, who throughout the 1920s had made a name for himself by creating grotesque and often painful horror make-ups, opened a niche for Pierce and Universal, Chaney's films provided audiences with the deformed monstrous faces that Pierce and moviegoers so clearly enjoyed.
Universal's first talkie horror film, Dracula (1931 film), eschewed elaborate horror make-up. Pierce designed a special color greasepaint for Bela Lugosi for his vampire character, but apparently the actor insisted in applying his own make-up. The most significant creation during Pierce's time at the studio was clearly Frankenstein, originally begun with Lugosi in the role of the Monster. The preliminary design (from contemporary newspaper accounts and a recollection of the screen test by actor Edward Van Sloan) was similar to the Paul Wegener 1920 German film of The Golem. This is not surprising, since studio head Carl Laemmle, Jr. and director Robert Florey were both familiar with German Expressionist films. When James Whale replaced Florey as director, the concept was radically changed. Pierce came up with a design which was horrific as well as logical in the context of the story. So, where Henry Frankenstein has accessed the brain cavity, there is a scar and a seal, and the now famous "bolts" on the neck are actually electrodes; carriers for the electricity used to revive the stiched-up corpse. How much input director James Whale had into the initial concept remains controversial. Universal loaned out Pierce for the Lugosi film White Zombie. They also loaned out some of the Dracula sets for the troublesome filming. Lugosi had collaborated with Pierce on the look of his devilish character in the film.
[edit] Karloff
The entire film community benefited by Pierce's contributions. Other studios were quick to jump on the monster bandwagon, but they were unable to capture the same equivalent horrific appearances as Jack's at Universal. It is a known fact,[citation needed] Pierce's reputation is as someone who was frequently bad-tempered, or at least extremely stern, but his fond relationship with Karloff was a good one. They both cooperated on the design of the now iconic make-up, with Karloff removing a dental plate to create an indentation on one side of the Monster's face. He also endured four hours of make-up under Pierce's hand each day, during which time his head was built up with cotton collodion and gum, and green greasepaint, (designed to look pale on black and white film) was applied to his face and hands. The finished product was universally acclaimed, and has since become the commonly accepted visual representation of Mary Shelley's creation. The Mummy, produced the following year, combines the plot of Dracula with the make-up tricks of Frankenstein, to turn Karloff into an incredibly aged and wrinkled Egyptian prince. Again, Pierce and Karloff's collaboration was critically acclaimed, as well as impressing audiences. Interestingly, that same year Pierce designed the Satanic make-up for Lugosi in White Zombie, although this was an independent film, rather than a Universal production.
[edit] Universal Studios Monster Maker
As the head of Universal's make-up department, Pierce is credited with designing and creating the iconic make-ups for films like Frankenstein (1931), The Mummy (1932), The Wolf Man (1941), and their various sequels associated with the characters. Utilizing his "out of the kit" techniques, Pierce's make-ups were often very grueling and took a considerable amount of time to apply. Pierce was always reluctant to use latex appliances, favoring his technique of building facial features out of cotton and collodion (a strong smelling liquid plastic), or nose putty. Pierce eventually started using latex appliances, most notably a rubber nose for Lon Chaney, Jr. in The Wolf Man (1941) (the edges of the appliance are clearly visible through most of the film), and a rubber head piece for Boris Karloff in The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939). Pierce was not especially liked around Universal, which partly lead to his demise at the studio. His most notorious relationship being with Lon Chaney, Jr., the two despised each other. Both worked on four Wolf Man films and three Mummy films at Universal. Chaney claimed that Pierce compounded difficulties in the long uncomfortable process with the adding on of sticky appliances. Lon's Wolf Man make-up consisted of yak hair being glued to his face, and having it singed with a hot iron. Chaney furthermore claimed, Pierce would purposely burn him with the hot iron. Chaney also had an allergic reaction to the make-up Pierce used on him in Ghost of Frankenstein. Later, Chaney suffered with Pierce's laboriously wrapped bandages for three Mummy films. In Jack's defense,the use of the fused elements of make-up was a needful 8 hour task for the desired effect that Pierce was looking for.
Unfortunately for Pierce, throughout the 1940s, make up artists were dropping their "out of the kit" techniques in favor of molded foam latex appliances that were cheaper, quicker, and more comfortable for the actors. Pierce always known as a stubborn man, continually resisted this way. The old regime at Universal was gone by the late 40s and new studio heads were looking for quicker, more cost-effective make-ups. Pierce was eventually let go from Universal in 1948 after over a decade of creating make-ups. It had become difficult for him to adapt to more modern and less costly methods. Jack was a man of tradition to his own executed designs. In the 1950s, things took a turn for the worse as television broadcasting came onto the scene. The Hollywood studios saw television as competition. Universal started the process of cutting their costs by selling needless studio assets, and trashing the unnecessary things they thought at the time were questionable.
[edit] Pierce and Karloff Reunite
It should be noted that on November 20, 1957, Ralph Edwards got Jack Pierce reunited with a smiling Boris Karloff on the celebrity biography program This is Your Life. On that night's program, Jack unveiled some memories working together with Karloff on the Universal film lot. Karloff was the special guest of the night, Boris was pleasantly surprised to see Jack Pierce once again.
[edit] Legacy
At the time, what Jack Pierce was able to accomplish at Universal with tolerant actors was nothing short of amazing. Without a doubt, Jack Pierce's enduring work at Universal has become a huge influence to many in the entertainment field, including make-up artist's Rick Baker and Tom Savini . Jack Pierce was an innovator in the world of screen entertainment and material design. Pierce understandably felt he never got the recognition he deserved and died a bitter man. Finally, in 2003, Pierce was recognized with a lifetime achievement award from the Hollywood Make-up Artist and Hair Stylist Guild. In recent years, there is a strong desire to give Pierce a Hollywood Boulevard star for his popular lasting triumphs that have been preserved for decades on the movies he worked on. Pierce undeniably created screen icons to last beyond his lifetime. His contributions still continue to attract droves of attention to his astonishingly memorable, entirely original designs.
[edit] External links
- Jack Pierce at the Internet Movie Database
- Jack Pierce (make-up artist) at Find a Grave
- Relevant article on Jack Pierce
- Frankenstein Monster Makeup video
- Jack Pierce: The Man Behind the Monsters; Scott Essman article
- John Stevenson's article on the make-up artist
- Relevant article on Pierce's make-up creations
- Jack Pierce article by James Bowles
- Pierce's make-up transformations on Chaney Jr.
- Brief appearance of Jack with Boris on This is Your Life
