Pierce was hired as the makeup artist for Monogram Pictures' 1949 horror-comedy film MASTER MINDS, starring The Bowery Boys (aka East Side Kids, aka Dead End Kids). It also featured the towering hulk of a man, Glenn Strange (known by "Peewee" to his buddies) billed as "Atlas The Monster".
Much like Boris Karloff, Jack and Strange became friends and Pierce had already had him in his makeup chair several times, including for roles in HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1944) and HOUSE OF DRACULA (1945).
How he got there makes for an interesting tale: the story goes that while working on a film at Universal he noticed Pierce kept staring at him. The following has two versions: that he was invited to Pierce's studio for a test makeup after his day's shoot for an extra $25, or that he was sent there after Pierce asked for him. Pierce went to work and when he pulled the cover off his mirror, Strange claimed, "I look like Boris Karloff!" Pierce called producer Paul Malvern and told him he had his Frankenstein monster. Strange also benefited by having Karloff on the set of HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, who graciously coached him on "acting like the monster".
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| A colorized photograph of Glenn Strange as Atlas, The Monster. |
Pierce and Strange would work together again a few years later on Monogram's Bowery Boys vehicle, MASTER MINDS. Jack turned Strange into the hirsute Atlas, The Monster, replete with wig, beard, facial scar, "wolfman hands" and an abundance of yak hair that Jack had plenty of previous experience applying.
And yes, Jack received screen credit:
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