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."

JACK PIERCE WOLFMAN PUBLICITY STILL

Coming up for bid at auction is an article of Jack Pierce-related memorabilia. The 8" x 10" still depicts Jack applying the finishing touches to Lon Chaney, Jr. as the title character in Universal's 1941 production of THE WOLF MAN.

In typical publicity department parlance, the pasted snipe on the back of the photo announces: "'Frankenstein' Creator Originates Werewolf Guise For Film", and states that it took five months of research, five months of preparation, and five hours every day to apply the makeup.

The Wolf Man makeup was to be Jack Pierce's last great monster creation. While he would make the Wolf Man, Frankenstein's Monster, and Dracula in future films for Universal, never again would he have quite the same luxury of spending months of prep time and multiple hours with a new monster creation sitting in his makeup chair, "waiting for a new life to be born."