Dick Smith (make-up artist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dick Smith
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Smith in 2009
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Richard Emerson Smith
June 26, 1922 Larchmont, New York, U.S.
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| Died | July 30, 2014 (aged 92) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Special make-up effects artist |
| Years active | 1945–1999 |
| Spouse(s) | Jocelyn De Rosa (m. January 10, 1944) |
| Children | 2 |
Richard Emerson Smith (born June 26, 1922 – died July 30, 2014) was a famous American special make-up effects artist. He was often called "The Godfather of Make-Up" because he invented so many new ways to create amazing looks for movies and TV.
Dick Smith worked on many well-known films. These include Little Big Man, The Godfather, The Exorcist, and Taxi Driver. He won an Oscar for Best Makeup for his work on Amadeus in 1985. Later, he received a special Academy Honorary Award in 2012 for his entire career.
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Early Life and Learning Make-Up
Richard Smith was born in Larchmont, New York. He went to Yale University and first planned to become a dentist. But then he read a book about theater make-up. This book made him very interested in how make-up could change people's faces.
He started doing make-up for plays at Yale. This was the start of his amazing career. After college, he served in the United States Army during World War II.
Starting in Television Make-Up
After the war, Dick Smith became a full-time make-up artist. He taught himself everything he knew. At first, film studios didn't hire him. But then his father suggested he try television, which was a new and growing field.
Smith became the first make-up director for WNBC in New York City. He worked there for 14 years. He started creating prosthetic makeup, which are special pieces applied to the face or body. These are now called special make-up effects. He worked on these new ideas from his home basement.
Back then, most prosthetic masks were made in one big piece. But Dick Smith had a new idea. He made them in three smaller pieces of foam latex. This new method allowed actors to move their faces and show more emotion. Even though some other make-up artists didn't like his ideas at first, Smith's techniques worked much better. Today, many standard ways of applying prosthetics were invented by him.
One of his early TV jobs was for a show called The Moon and Sixpence (1959). He had to make actor Laurence Olivier look like he had leprosy. Olivier was so impressed, he said, "Dick, it does the acting for me." Smith also worked on the TV show Dark Shadows in 1967. He made a vampire character look very old, over 175 years! This work helped him prepare for future movie roles.
In 1965, he even wrote a book called Dick Smith's Do-It-Yourself Monster Make-up Handbook. It taught people how to create their own monster make-up.
Amazing Film Work (1970s)
Dick Smith's work became very famous in movies. For the film Little Big Man (1970), he made the actor Dustin Hoffman, who was in his 30s, look like a very old man, 121 years old! Smith spent six weeks working on this detailed old-age make-up.
In The Godfather (1972), he had to make Marlon Brando look like an old Don Corleone. Brando didn't want to wear prosthetics. So, Smith used special stipple effects on his face. He also used a dental device to make Brando's cheeks look droopy. Smith also created the first ever realistic bleeding effects for this movie. He used hidden bladders under foam latex that would burst with fake blood when a tiny explosive was set off.
Smith was also a pioneer in combining make-up with special effects on set. This was clear in The Exorcist (1973). His skills made many amazing effects possible. For example, he made welts appear on Linda Blair's stomach. He also created the famous head-spinning effect using a mechanical dummy. His work on The Exorcist showed that make-up could do much more than just make people look scary or old.
More Film Success and Awards
Dick Smith also created the unique look for Robert De Niro's character in Taxi Driver (1976). He also made the bloody effects for the end of that movie.
In 1984, Smith and Paul LeBlanc won an Oscar for Best Makeup for Amadeus. He transformed the 44-year-old actor F. Murray Abraham into a very old man. Abraham said that when he looked in the mirror, the make-up felt completely real. Smith believed his work helped actors truly become their characters.
He received another Oscar nomination for Dad (1989). For this film, he made Jack Lemmon, who was in his 60s, look like he was in his 80s.
Later Years and Legacy
In his later career, Dick Smith worked on films like Death Becomes Her (1992) and House on Haunted Hill (1999). This last film was his final movie credit.
As he got older, Smith focused on teaching his amazing methods to new make-up artists. In 2011, he received a special Academy Honorary Award for his life's work. He was the first make-up artist ever to get this honor.
Dick Smith passed away on July 30, 2014, in Los Angeles. He was 92 years old and left behind two sons. His inventions and techniques changed the world of movie make-up forever.
Partial filmography
- House of Dark Shadows, directed by Dan Curtis (1970)
- Little Big Man, directed by Arthur Penn (1970)
- Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?, directed by Ulu Grosbard (1971)
- The Godfather, directed by Francis Ford Coppola (1972)
- The Exorcist, directed by William Friedkin (1973)
- The Godfather Part II, directed by Francis Ford Coppola (1974)
- The Sunshine Boys, directed by Herbert Ross (1975)
- Taxi Driver, directed by Martin Scorsese (1976)
- Marathon Man, directed by John Schlesinger (1976)
- The Deer Hunter, directed by Michael Cimino (1978)
- Scanners, directed by David Cronenberg (1981)
- Nighthawks, directed by Bruce Malmuth (1981)
- Starman, directed by John Carpenter (1984)
- Amadeus, directed by Miloš Forman (1984)
- Sweet Home, directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa (1989)
- Death Becomes Her, directed by Robert Zemeckis (1992)
- House on Haunted Hill, directed by William Malone (1999)
