PIERCE'S PAIN IN THE NECK

Jack found yet another use for cotton, collodion and greasepaint when he applied the broken neck scar to Bela Lugosi in his role as Ygor in Son of Frankenstein (1939).

JACK PIERCE, MAX FACTOR AND 'SEED'

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"You are not born glamorous. Glamour is created."

- Max Factor

After completing Frankenstein and before he began work on his next famous monster, The Mummy, Jack provided the straight makeup on numerous mainstream films. At this time, he was collaborating with Max Factor, who had come to Hollywood from Russia to start his legendary cosmetics business.

One such film was Seed, starring John Boles, Lois Wilson and Genevieve Tobin, released on May 14, 1931. In a full-page ad in the June 1931 issue of American Cinematographer shown above, Factor promoted the film using his panchromatic makeup and applied by Pierce. Other prominent actors Jack worked on for this production were Bette Davis, Zasu Pitts, Frances Dade and young Our Gang member Dickie Moore.

WHEN THE MUMMY COMES TO LIFE, WHEE!

Universal's in-house publication, The Universal Weekly, was distributed as an advertising periodical to various theater owners and distributors across the country. Publication began soon after Carl Laemmle and his associates formed Universal Pictures until it ceased publishing in 1936 when the Laemmle's--then the sole owners--were forced to give up their company for non-payment of a large cash loan from Standard Capitol Corporation.

The cartoon shown below is from the January 14, 1933 issue. It is drawn by Ralph C. "Woodrow" Faulkner. Faulkner was born in 1890 in San Antonio, Texas. He worked in vaudeville and on the stage where he became quite popular as an impersonator, especially that of President Woodrow Wilson during his administration. He was also a reporter for east coast newspapers, as well as a cartoonist for the San Francisco Daily News.

Faulkner turned his talents to acting and is reported to have begun his career at the Albuquerque Film Company in the early 1910's. He also worked for Thanhauser in at least one film and continued his acting career into the late 1930s. He died on August 28, 1940.

VIRGINIA CHRISTINE IN THE MUMMY'S CURSE

One of the most startling sequences to come out of a Universal horror film was Virginia Christine as Princess Ananka rising up out of the swamp to live again in The Mummy's Curse (1944).

Initially, Pierce devised a concoction that was risky to apply to the skin. When Christine learned of the experimental technique, she was petrified that it might disfigure her face. Universal's front office caught wind of it and derailed the idea. Pierce resorted to using a product called Denver Mud (a medicated poultice made from clay local to the Denver area).

Christine explained the process: “I was in the makeup chair, I think, at 4:30 in the morning. They took little patches of cotton, wet with Witch Hazel, put them on and lined them to fill in the youthful contours. Then Jack put on the ‘Denver Mudpack,’ just a little bit at a time, then lined that with wrinkles, then blow-dried it—each little patch until I was an absolutely rigid mask.”

With the help of Pierce’s wife, Blanche Pierce (née Craven), Christine was able to drink and use the restroom as needed while in full makeup. However, she was cautioned not to laugh during any of these humorous situations or the makeup would crack and the process would have to begin all over.

The end result was shocking and made even more so by Christine’s incredible performance. In his 1986 article from Films in Review, horror historian Gregory Mank, citing it as “one of the most dynamic performances of Universal’s long-celebrated horror shows”, recounts the startling scene: “Suddenly a hand rises out of the mud, grasping toward the rejuvenating sun. The quagmire quivers, and there arises a female mummy, horrifically caked with muck, stretching, jerking and falling as she escapes the boggy grave.” While not as iconic as his classic monsters, it still stands as Pierce’s most notable makeup since The Wolf Man.

ON THE SET OF SON OF DRACULA

Horror films were on a tight budget in the 1940s, but not so tight to have the leading actor pitch in as an assistant set decorator as this photograph suggests! Actually, Lon Chaney as Count Alucard is having fun playing with a prop web spinner. Jack is in the background touching up Louise Albritton in between shots. The other woman in the picture is unidentified.

Son of Dracula was released in 1944. It was directed by Robert Siodmak, who went on to helm several stylish film noir thrillers such as Criss Cross. Robert's brother, Curt (noted for writing the screenplay for The Wolf Man), authored the story on which the film was based. Universal's #1 Scream Queen Evelyn Ankers also co-starred.

JACK PIERCE WIGS OUT

Above is a publicity photo--surely intended to be humorous-- showing Jack putting the final touches on Conrad Veidt's wig on the set of The Man Who Laughs (Universal, 1928). At some point in his career Pierce became a professional barber. Notice his portable makeup kit in the background.

The identity of the photographer is unknown, but it is most likely Roman or Jack Freulich or Ray Jones, all who worked for Universal at the time.

JACK AND CARTOONIST FEG MURRAY

Ex-athlete turned cartoonist Feg Murray befriended Jack and often included his makeup creations in his strip "Seein' Stars". This example of Boris Karloff in Son of Frankenstein (1939) is from Pierce's scrapbook.

MAN WHO LAUGHS PHOTO-FEATURE

This photo-feature appeared in the April 1928 issue of the Hollywood fan magazine Picture Play. It includes shots of Jack's magnificent makeup of Conrad Veidt's Gwynplaine. Also note the photo of Olga Baclanova. A few years later, she would star as the character Cleopatra in Tod Browning's Freaks (1928). Horror fans may also remember that Mary Philbin later played Christine Daaé in Universal's The Phantom of the Opera in 1925.

The images are credited to "Freulich", most likely Roman Freulich.

LIZARD'S LEG AND OWLET'S WING

Aired on October 26, 1962, "Lizard's Leg and Owlet's Wing" cast Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney, Jr. and Peter Lorre in a special Halloween episode of Route 66. Chaney appeared as The Hunchback of Notre Dame and the Wolfman (for the final time). Chaney's grandson, Ron made an appearance as the little boy in the opening scene. The three actors appeared as themselves on the show.

This episode also marked the last time Karloff would play the Frankenstein monster on film. The photo above shows makeup artist Ben Lane making up Karloff using a reference photo from Son of Frankenstein. Lane was assisted by Abe Haberman and Maurice Seiderman.

Lane had a busy career as the makeup artist on many TV shows. Seiderman was uncredited for his work on Citizen Kane. He also worked on the genre films The Monster Maker, Bride of the Monster and They Saved Hitler's Brain. Haberman was Pierce's assistant for ten years during the 1930s and 1940s. He learned a lot of his trade from Jack and applied what he learned in later makeups, including those for the Route 66 show and The Munsters.

Pierce did not work on this program as he was busy on another TV show, Mr. Ed.

"TO MY FRIEND JACK PIERCE"

French-American actor Charles Boyer signed a three picture contract with Universal in January 1942. During that period he had numerous occasions to sit in Jack Pierce's makeup chair. The photo shown above with the message, "To my friend Jack Pierce" is just one of the many photos like this where actors and actresses thanked Pierce for his work.

Note that the photo is copyrighted 1941. It's likely he was negotiating his contract with Universal late in the year and this publicity portrait taken during that time.

A BIT OF FUN ON THE SET OF TOWER OF LONDON

Above is a shot of Jack shaving Boris Karloff's head for his role of Mord in Universal's historical drama, The Tower of London (1939). The image below shows Karloff returning the favor!

OGRE OF THE MAKE-UP BOX

Happy New Year, everyone! Welcome to a new page in the chronicle of the life and career of Jack P. Pierce, makeup artist extraordinaire. Let's dive in, shall we?

The clipping shown above is from The New York Times, Sunday March 31, 1935. It includes the article, "Ogre of the Make-Up Box", written about two months after Werewolf of London began shooting. The author also includes info on The Bride of Frankenstein that had just been completed.

“The Frankenstein of Universal City has just finished his biggest job to date and is well advanced on his next assignment of turning men into monsters. This practitioner of occult arts, before whom strong actors tremble is Jack Pierce, half man, half plasterer. After making two monsters a day (male and female created he them) over a stretch of thirty-two days for ‘The Bride of Frankenstein’ which James Whale has just finished, he is now filling the hair-restorative companies with consternation by growing hair on the palm of Henry Hull for the ‘Werewolf of London’. He is now on location at Vasquez Rocks, California, a weird desert tract of jagged cliffs which look like geological formations on Mars.

“Pierce is the centre [sic] of attention for all the players and staff. A wry, irascible-looking chap, with black mustache and steel-rimmed spectacles, he looks precisely like a German scientist. Especially is this so, when, attired in his white surgeon’s tunic [actually a barber’s smock; Pierce was a professionally-trained barber] worn over a sweater, he is busy doing unprecedented things to the visage of homo [sic] sapiens.”

LA OPINION ON JACK PIERCE

The drawing shown above of Jack and Boris was included in an article about Pierce in the July 22, 1982 edition of the Spanish language Los Angeles newspaper, LA Opinion. The artist appears to be uncredited, but it is likely to be the work of a staff artist.

NOTE: We are taking a holiday break. As a result, this will be our last post of the year. Happy Holidays, and we'll see you back here after the first of the year.

BEHIND PIERCE'S MAKEUP: JACQUES LERNER

The Fox Film Corporation's The Monkey Talks was released on February 20, 1927. It was directed by Raoul Walsh and based on the 1924 French stage play Le Singe qui parle by René Fauchois. Both starred the actor Jacques Lerner as the titular monkey. We've yet to find any photographs of Lerner in the stage play or any information on his makeup. It is likely that he did his own.

Lerner was born in Russia and raised in Paris, France. At the age of eight, he joined the circus as a tumbler, after which he began playing on the stage. He became quite popular, and at some point was considered by the press as the "continental Lon Chaney".

When Fox bought the rights for the story, they located Lerner to play his role on screen. A young Jack Pierce, who had already become an accomplished makeup artist, was hired to transform Lerner into a simian.

And what a convincing job it was! Accolades were given to the unknown person who had turned a man into a talking monkey.

This article on Jacques Lerner is from Picture Play, June 1927. Pierce is unsurprisingly not mentioned.

A PAGE FROM JACK'S SCRAPBOOK

During his career, Jack kept a scrapbook of just about every bit of information he could find on the films and makeups he worked on. The page exhibited today is from the time he won the Hollywood Filmograph award for most outstanding makeup in 1933 for his exemplary work on The Mummy in 1932. A few years ago, we posted another page from his scrapbook here.

JACK'S WOLFMAN MASK?

It has been well reported that Lon Chaney Jr. was no fan of sitting in Pierce's makeup chair. He complained of the chemicals and adhesives that Jack applied on his face and hands, especially when it came time to remove them after the day's shoot.

A publicity photo of Jack and Lon (see above) during the filming of Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman (1943) was meant to be humorous, but there was also no small truth behind Chaney's real feelings about his makeup ordeal.

Pierce applies foundation greasepaint and shadows to Lon Chaney Jr.

According to the description of  Lot 114A listed in a Guernsey's Auction in 2008 of The Pugliese Pop Culture Collection, this full-head latex mask was purported to have been made by Pierce for Chaney to use in "long or obstructed shots" in order to avoid some of the makeup sessions. The inside markings on the mask read: "Chaney, JP, O.U.P.C. #1279", and it appears that this is what authentication was based on.

When Pierce was later asked if he liked working with Chaney, he diplomatically replied: "Yes and no. That's about all I can say."

FAMOUS MONSTERS' TRIBUTE TO JACK PIERCE

After Jack's passing on July 19, 1968, this remembrance of him was published in the May 1969 issue of Famous Monsters of Filmland. It was written by editor Forrest J Ackerman and included a selected filmography by Gary Dorst and Jim Warren.

Ackerman wrote: "He made them [Pierce's makeups] the hard way, the old way, the original way that took half a day of tireless effort..."

Included was an excerpt of Frank Taylor's obituary for Jack from the Los Angeles Times on August 8, 1968.

Ray Bradbury added a poignant comment: "Jack Pierce's creation [of the Frankenstein monster] will be remembered for hundreds of years to come. And so, in a way, Jack Pierce created & signed his own epitaph."

JACK, GLENN AND THE BOWERY BOYS

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".

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: