Jack Pierce (make-up artist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jack Pierce
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Pierce working on Boris Karloff
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| Born | May 5, 1889 Laconia, Greece
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| Died | July 19, 1968 (aged 79) Hollywood, California
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| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale |
| Other names | Yiannis Pikoulas |
| Occupation | make-up artist |
Jack Pierce (born Yiannis Pikoulas; May 5, 1889 – July 19, 1968) was a famous Hollywood make-up artist. He is best known for creating the amazing makeup for Boris Karloff in the movie Frankenstein (1931). He also designed many other classic monster looks for Universal Studios.
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Early Career in Hollywood
Jack Pierce came to the United States from his home country, Greece, when he was a teenager. He tried out different jobs, even playing amateur baseball.
In the 1920s, Pierce started working in movies. He was a cinema manager, a stuntman, an actor, and even an assistant director. These jobs helped him become a master at makeup. Because he wasn't a "leading man" type, he decided to focus on creating makeup for other actors.
In 1915, he began working on movie crews. For the 1926 film The Monkey Talks, Jack Pierce created the makeup for an actor playing a simian (a monkey-like creature) that could talk. The head of Universal, Carl Laemmle, was very impressed with his work. After that, Pierce designed the scary smiling face for Conrad Veidt in the silent movie The Man Who Laughs (1928). Soon, Universal Pictures hired him full-time.
In 1930, a famous makeup artist named Lon Chaney passed away. Chaney was known for creating scary and often painful monster makeups. His death left a space for Pierce at Universal. Pierce was ready to create the deformed and monstrous faces that moviegoers loved.
Universal's first horror "talkie" was Dracula (1931). For this film, Pierce designed a special greasepaint for Béla Lugosi's vampire character. However, Lugosi wanted to apply his own makeup. For later Dracula films, Pierce created a different look, giving Dracula gray hair and a mustache.
Creating the Frankenstein Monster
The most important monster creation during Pierce's time at Universal was for Frankenstein (1931). At first, Bela Lugosi was supposed to play the Monster. Early ideas for the Monster's look were similar to a German film called The Golem (1920). However, the final design was different.
Jack Pierce came up with a design that was both scary and made sense for the story. For example, where Dr. Frankenstein opened the Monster's head, there was a scar and a seal. The famous "bolts" on the neck were actually electrodes. These were used to bring the stitched-up body back to life with electricity.
Even though Lugosi didn't play the Frankenstein Monster, he and Pierce worked together later. Pierce was loaned out by Universal to design Lugosi's devilish character in the film White Zombie (1932).
Working with Boris Karloff
Jack Pierce was known for being very serious or even a bit bad-tempered. But he had a good relationship with Boris Karloff. They worked together on the famous makeup for the Frankenstein Monster. Karloff even removed a dental plate to make one side of the Monster's face look sunken in.
Every day, Karloff spent four hours getting his makeup done by Pierce. Pierce built up Karloff's head with cotton, a liquid called collodion, and gum. He then applied green greasepaint to Karloff's face and hands. This green paint looked pale on black-and-white film. Everyone loved the final look, and it became the most recognized image of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Monster.
The next year, Pierce and Karloff worked on The Mummy. This film combined the story style of Dracula with the makeup tricks from Frankenstein. Karloff was transformed into an incredibly old and wrinkled Egyptian prince. Again, their teamwork was praised by critics and audiences.
Years later, on November 20, 1957, Jack Pierce and Boris Karloff were reunited on a TV show called This Is Your Life. Karloff was the special guest, and he was very happy to see Pierce again. He called Pierce the greatest makeup artist in the business.
Universal Studios Monster Maker
As the head of Universal's makeup department, Pierce created many iconic monster makeups. These included the looks for Frankenstein, The Mummy (1932), and The Wolf Man (1941), along with their sequels.
Pierce often used his "out-of-the-kit" methods. His makeups were usually very difficult and took a long time to apply. He often preferred building facial features with cotton and collodion or nose putty instead of using latex pieces. However, he did start using latex later. For example, he used a rubber nose for Lon Chaney Jr. in The Wolf Man (1941). He also used a rubber headpiece for Boris Karloff in Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939).
Working with Lon Chaney Jr.
Jack Pierce wasn't always well-liked at Universal, which partly led to him leaving the studio. His relationship with Lon Chaney Jr. was especially difficult. They worked together on four Wolf Man films and three Mummy films. Chaney claimed that Pierce made the long, uncomfortable makeup process even harder by adding sticky pieces.
For the Wolf Man makeup, yak hair was glued to Chaney's face and then singed (lightly burned) with a hot iron. Chaney said Pierce would sometimes burn him on purpose. Chaney also reportedly had an allergic reaction to a rubber headpiece Pierce used on him in The Ghost of Frankenstein. Later, Chaney had to endure Pierce's carefully wrapped bandages for three Mummy films. However, the "makeup" for the Mummy was mostly a rubber mask designed for Chaney's face.
Despite their reported disagreements, Chaney later called Pierce a makeup genius, second only to Chaney's own father.
Pierce's Signature Hair Work
Besides his famous monster makeups, Jack Pierce often gave actors a "widow's peak" hairline. This is a V-shaped point in the hairline in the middle of the forehead. Both Béla Lugosi and Carlos Villarias wore widow's peak toupees in their versions of Dracula in 1931. Lugosi's makeup for White Zombie (1932) also featured a very strong widow's peak.
Pierce even shaved Boris Karloff's hairline into an arrow-like widow's peak for the 1934 film The Black Cat. He also gave Bud Abbott a widow's peak toupee in his early films with Lou Costello. For Lon Chaney Jr., Pierce created a low, pointed hairline in films like Strange Confession and Son of Dracula (1943).
Pierce used an old theater method for applying beards and mustaches. This involved cutting lengths of hair (human, yak, or crepe hair), painting spirit gum on the face, and then gluing rows of hair on top of each other. Once dry, the hair was trimmed to the right shape.
Jack Pierce was let go from Universal in 1946 after twenty years. One reason might have been his resistance to using new foam latex techniques, which could have saved time and money. However, Pierce did use latex rubber for some things, like the Frankenstein Monster's headpiece and the Wolf Man's brow. He also used rubber masks for the Mummy films.
The new management at Universal International wanted to make more important movies. They hired Bud Westmore to lead the makeup department. Westmore was young and charming, unlike Pierce. So, Universal got the famous Westmore name, and Bud Westmore became the head of the department for the next twenty years, leaving Jack Pierce without a job.
After Universal Studios
After leaving Universal, Jack Pierce sometimes worked on big movies like Joan of Arc (1948). He even made up Karloff as the Frankenstein Monster for a dream scene in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, though this scene was later cut.
Mostly, Pierce worked on smaller, independent Westerns and horror films. Some of his notable creations from this time include the hairy character in Teenage Monster and the bald, scarred mutants in Beyond the Time Barrier. He also created bald cyborgs with silver eyes for Creation of the Humanoids. He even brought back his Wolf Man design for Beauty and the Beast (1962).
He also created many historical, old-age, and character makeups for TV shows like Screen Directors Playhouse and You Are There. In one episode of Telephone Time, called The Golden Junkman, Lon Chaney Jr. played an old junk dealer who aged from his 30s to his 70s, and Pierce handled the makeup perfectly.
His friend, director/producer Arthur Lubin, hired Pierce for his last job. Pierce worked for four years on the Mister Ed television series, from 1961 to 1964.
Jack Pierce passed away in 1968 from a kidney-related illness called uremia.
Legacy
Jack Pierce's work at Universal Studios has inspired many people in the entertainment world. This includes famous makeup artists like Rick Baker and Tom Savini. Jack Pierce was a true pioneer in movie makeup and design.
In 2003, Pierce received a lifetime achievement award from the Hollywood Make-up Artist and Hair Stylist Guild. Many people also want to see him get a star on Hollywood Boulevard for his amazing work.
In May 2013, the Cinema Makeup School in Los Angeles opened a special gallery to honor Jack Pierce.
Images for kids
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Pierce working on Boris Karloff
See also
In Spanish: Jack Pierce (artista de maquillaje) para niños
