JOHN NAVROTH
When I found out as a Monster Kid during the 1960’s TV revival
of the classic horror films that the person behind the making of my favorite
monsters was a man named Jack Pierce, I was an instant fan. Pierce was the
genius behind the makeup creations of every single Universal monster from the
1930’s to the early 1940’s. While he would have humbly deferred their success
to the actors under his makeup like Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Lon Chaney,
Jr., it was Pierce who gave them form and substance. Unfortunately, for all his
accomplishments over the years, he faded into obscurity and his passing went
largely unnoticed. Only about two dozen people attended Jack Pierce’s funeral
in the summer of 1968.
As for myself, I was born in sunny Southern California (not
many miles as the bat flies to famed “Horrorwood, CA”) and went to Junior High
and High School in the San Fernando Valley. I travelled some, sold office
machines, then worked for a while in the animation industry with gigs at Ralph
Bakshi (The Lord of the Rings) and Hanna-Barbara (Superfriends, Scooby Doo).
For the last 25 years, I’ve lived in the Pacific Northwest, not far from the
city of Seattle on the eastward side of Lake Washington. While not engaged as a
public employee in the field of occupational health and safety, I like playing
music and getting out into nature with my trusty Nikon.
I also write. While a member of the H.P. Lovecraft Amateur
Press Association I had an essay published in S.T. Joshi’s The Lovecraft
Annual. I’ve also contributed to Fate, Famous Monsters of Filmland, Monsters from
the Vault, G-Fan and scads of small press magazines.
A few years ago I started a blog called Monster Magazine
World. I found myself referring to Jack Pierce and his accomplishments in many
of my posts. It didn’t take long for me to realize that Jack’s artistic genius
is at the core of the classic Universal monsters and his contributions are
indivisible from their deserved legendary reputation. I also realized that,
while there was no shortage of photos depicting Jack with his makeup creations,
there wasn’t a lot of his biographical information readily available. Many
websites and bios recycle and rehash the same information, some of it
erroneous.
It is the purpose of this site, along with my co-blogger and
co-author, Douglas Brown, to share information and news regarding our on-going
projects regarding Jack Pierce, the Man Who Made Monsters Famous!
DOUGLAS BROWN
Although I did not hear the term "Monster Kid"
until a couple of years ago, I have lived many of the typical monster kid
experiences. Born in the mid-fifties, I grew up watching monster and
science-fiction movies on TV shows like Jeepers Creepers and Strange
Tales. When a neighbor showed me a well-read copy of FAMOUS MONSTERS #28,
I was hooked! Thanks to Forry Ackerman's wonderful magazine, I learned
about the magic of movie makeup and the process of turning men into
monsters. Since my favorites were Wolf-Man, The Mummy, and Frankenstein's
monster, I was fascinated by photos of a man in a doctor's smock applying
Fuller's earth, yak hair, putty, and gauze to the faces and bodies of Karloff,
Chaney, Lugosi, and the other great horror actors. That man was Jack
Pierce, of course, and I wanted to learn more about this man and his incredible
work.
As life progressed, my attention turned to other interests and
monsters faded somewhat from my attention. Several years ago, a series of
events re-kindled the monster kid embers that lay dormant in my brain. As
I tried to re-learn the history of monster movies, I was disappointed to discover
the dearth of information about Jack Pierce. John Navroth and I talked
about the injustice of the inattention paid to this master of makeup.
This blog is our attempt to provide a clearinghouse for information about Jack
Pierce; a place where his fans can share thoughts, memories, and data about
this giant of the motion picture industry. I hope you will join in the
discussion!
NOTE: To get in touch with us, use the contact form on the home page. We'd love to hear your thoughts about our efforts. Plus, if you've got anything to share about Jack Pierce, from personal experience, to newspaper clippings, photos, or just about anything, please let us know.
