Jack Peirce a Horror Makeup Pioneer
By JM. Jeffrey
Jack Pierce is the horror makeup pioneer who created the look for classic Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolf man, and the Mummy films. Pierce was born May 5, 1889 in Greece. After immigrating to the United States as a teenager he tried his hand in several types of jobs. In his twenties he tried different jobs within the movies, including, stuntman and actor. Pierce’s acting affiliations eventually lead to the designing the makeup for Bela Lugosi’s movie Dracula in 1930.
Actor Lon Chaney had dominated the 1920s cinema with his spectacular special makeups and the way he could contort himself (sometimes painfully) in roles like the Phantom of the Opera and the Hunchback of Notre Dame. After the death of Lon Chaney, there became a great need for the movie studios to have innovative makeup artists to help fill the gap created by the loss of Chaney. Audiences expected unique makeups and Jack Piece stood up to that challenge.
For the Dracula film Pierce didn’t do Lugosi’s makeup as the star had been doing his own makeup for the stage version, however the work Pierce did on the other actors was enough to get him regular work at Universal studios. His most significant assignment was the film version of Mary Shelly’s book Frankenstein (released 1931). Pierce relied on his interpretation of the script to help guide him in how the monster should appear. Including the bolts on the side of Karloff’s neck which made sense because in the film, the monster was brought to life using jolts of electricity.
Karloff and Pierce got along well which was handy because they spent many hours together as the makeup appliances were built up on Karloff with Pierce’s hands. The makeup process took about four hours each day during which time Karloff’s head was built up with cotton collodion and gum, and toxic green paint which would look pale on black and white film was applied to his face and hands. Karloff removed a dental plate giving the monster’s cheek a sunken in “dead” look. All this collaboration would pay off as Karloff’s depiction of Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein is still the most recognized and admired throughout the world.
Pierce went on the create make-up effects for several more universal films including, The Mummy (1932), The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), Son of Frankenstein (1939), Werewolf of London (1935), and Lon Chaney Jr. in The Wolf Man (1941). The make-up for the Wolf man was considered elaborate for the time as Pierce created several molded rubber applications that were glued to the actor’s face. The rubber was covered in yak fur to give the “hairy” wolf effect.
Pierce’s last films at universal included 1943 film Phantom of the Opera starring Claude Rains and the House of Dracula in 1945. In the 1950s and 1960s Pierce did makeup work for television including the show Mr. Ed. He passed away in 1968. With the recent releases of many of his classic films on DVD and makeup artists such as Rick Baker and Tom Savini citing Pierce as a pioneer in the field, Jack Pierce’s important contributions to the horror makeup genre will not be forgotten. He was awarded a life-time achievement award from the Hollywood Make-up Artist and Hair Stylist Guild in 2003.
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