JACK PIERCE PHOTO ERROR

The photo shown above appeared in the September 1937 issue of SILVER SCREEN. The caption reads, "John King being made up by Jack Pierce, expert." Anyone familiar with the singular visage of Jack Pierce will know at once that it is certainly not him in the picture. It is instead, most likely an assistant, or even someone merely posing for the publicity shot.

Considering the date of the magazine, the photo is probably from the Universal Picture, THE ROAD BACK, released on 1 June 1937. Scripted by Charles Kenyon and Erich Maria Remarque, it was the sequel to the Academy Award-winning ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT. James Whale was the director, and this was the next film he made after his personal favorite, the musical SHOWBOAT. Other familiar Universal production personnel were involved with the making of THE ROAD BACK, such as Charles D. Hall as Art Director, John P. Fulton creating the special effects, Charles Previn as Music Director, and of course, Jack Pierce heading up the makeup department. For Universal's horror fans, familiar faces seen acting in the film were: Frank Reicher, Lionel Atwill, E.E. Clive, Dwight Frye and Edward Van Sloan.

Another note for fans of Universal's history: soon after the release of Whales' SHOWBOAT, Carl Laemmle was forced out of his company for financial reasons. His son, Junior Laemmle, followed suit. The Laemmles exited the studio that their name created in the early days in Hollywood. It also heralded the end of the classic horror era that Universal created a little over a half-dozen years before. Pierce had about another decade to go until he too was shown the door.

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."

JACK AND JACQUES IN THE MONKEY TALKS

Details of Jack Pierce's career of his transition from silent films to his notoriety as head of makeup for Universal Studios in the early 1930's is murky. There are a few examples,however, of the evolution of his skill as a creative artist. One indication was his masterful work that turned actor Jacques Lerner from human to simian in Raoul Walsh's 1927 Fox production, The Monkey Talks.

Pierce had an affinity for hair appliances. While his work using Yak hair on Lon Chaney Jr. in The Wolf Man immediately comes to mind, his creation of Jocko is, by comparison, startlingly realistic. So much so, in fact, that it got the attention of Carl Laemmle at Universal, and it didn't take long before Jack was under contract with them as the head of their makeup department.

Seen here is a one-page spread from the April 1928 issue of Picture Play magazine. Titled "The Simian Invasion", it depicts five different ape makeups that were currently used in various films. Jack's Jocko is shown, as well as a photo of Charles Gemora wearing his own makeup in The Leopard Lady.

Most notably, though, is a close up of Greek actor George Kotsonaros as the "Gorilla Man" from the still-lost silent, The Wizard. Like the actor "Bull" Montana, Kotsonaros (1892-1933) was a big man. He became a professional wrestler after his short, five-year film career. He died tragically, in a car accident in Alabama.

No makeup credits have been given to the Gorilla Man. The Wizard was released on 11 December 1927 and The Monkey Talks had been released earlier in the year on 20 February. Both were produced by Fox Film Corporation (later to merge with 20th Century to become 20th Century Fox). Kotsonaros was Greek and so was Pierce. Would it be too much of a stretch to consider Jack Pierce as the make up artist for this character, as well?