Jack Dawn
Jack Dawn (February 10, 1892 - June 20, 1961) was an American make-up artist whose career spanned thirty-seven years. He worked on more than two hundred films, many of them regarded as classics by historians and moviegoers alike. As a boy living on a Kentucky farm, Dawn chopped faces in sandstone he found on the banks of a nearby creek, using a chisel, a hammer, and a spoon. He eventually gravitated to Hollywood, where he found work as an extra, portraying an Indian brave for $3 a day. He served with the British during World War I, then returned to the American film capital to work as a make-up assistant and part-time actor at Universal Pictures. One of his first creations was a stiff, uncomfortable mask he wore in the role of an ape in 1925. In order to make masks that were more elastic and lifelike, he began to experiment with a variety of materials. After nine years of research while working at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he developed a synthetic plastic he called vinylite resin for which he received a patent. Its first application was used to create the Chinese faces for the mostly white cast of The Good Earth in 1937. Two years later, Dawn was assigned the task of giving life to three non-human characters - a scarecrow, a tin man, and a lion - in MGM's now-classic musical film The Wizard of Oz, based on L. Frank Baum's novel. He also created the green makeup for Wicked Witch of the West Margaret Hamilton and multiple looks for Frank Morgan, who portrayed five different characters in the film, as well as for the Munchkins. His work resulted in some of the most recognizable makeup designs ever created for a Hollywood production. In 1943, Dawn approached the San Diego Naval Hospital with an offer to help World War II soldiers whose faces and hands had been disfigured in battle. He created inlays that helped patients appear normal between multiple plastic surgery operations. Dawn worked with many of Hollywood's legendary performers, including Laurel and Hardy, Greta Garbo, Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Bert Lahr, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Greer Garson, Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Lucille Ball, Ingrid Bergman, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, Ginger Rogers, Lana Turner, Fred Astaire, and Betty Hutton. Dawn died in Glendale, California, five years after retiring from films. He was buried with an unmarked grave in Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery.
The Philadelphia Story
(Makeup Artist)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
(Makeup Artist)
The Stratton Story
(Makeup Designer)
Pride and Prejudice
(Makeup Artist)
Good News
(Makeup Designer)
Mrs. Parkington
(Makeup Designer)
Kismet
(Makeup Designer)
The Arnelo Affair
(Makeup Artist)
Mark of the Vampire
(Makeup Artist)
The Harvey Girls
(Makeup Designer)
Duchess of Idaho
(Makeup Artist)
The Hoodlum Saint
(Makeup Artist)
The Human Comedy
(Makeup Artist)
The Sea of Grass
(Makeup Artist)
That Forsyte Woman
(Makeup Designer)
The Unfinished Dance
(Makeup Designer)
Hills of Home
(Makeup Designer)
Ambush
(Makeup Artist)
Keeper of the Flame
(Makeup Artist)
The Three Musketeers
(Makeup Designer)
Big City
(Makeup Artist)
Julia Misbehaves
(Makeup Artist)
Summer Holiday
(Makeup Artist)
Nancy Goes to Rio
(Makeup Artist)
The Reformer and the Redhead
(Makeup Designer)
Bathing Beauty
(Makeup Designer)
The Red Danube
(Makeup Artist)
Battleground
(Makeup Artist)
Yolanda and the Thief
(Makeup Artist)
Annie Get Your Gun
(Makeup Artist)
Two Smart People
(Makeup Artist)
The Pirate
(Makeup Artist)
Son of Lassie
(Makeup Designer)
Challenge to Lassie
(Makeup Designer)
The Asphalt Jungle
(Makeup Designer)
Way Out West
(Makeup Artist)
Gaslight
(Makeup Designer)
20 Mule Team
(Makeup Designer)
Tortilla Flat
(Makeup Artist)
Mystery Street
(Makeup Designer)
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood
(Makeup Designer)
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
(Makeup Artist)
Boys Town
(Makeup Artist)
Easy to Wed
(Makeup Artist)
Stars in My Crown
(Makeup Artist)
Neptune's Daughter
(Makeup Artist)
She Went to the Races
(Makeup Artist)
Miracles for Sale
(Makeup Artist)
Broadway Serenade
(Makeup Artist)
Ninotchka
(Makeup Designer)
Side Street
(Makeup Supervisor)
In the Good Old Summertime
(Makeup Designer)
The Canterville Ghost
(Makeup Designer)
Desire Me
(Makeup Designer)
The Valley of Decision
(Makeup Designer)
Black Hand
(Makeup Artist)
Please Believe Me
(Makeup Artist)
Shadow on the Wall
(Makeup Artist)
The Big Hangover
(Makeup Artist)
Right Cross
(Makeup Designer)
Easter Parade
(Makeup Designer)
The Great Sinner
(Makeup Designer)
Father of the Bride
(Makeup Designer)
Little Nellie Kelly
(Makeup Designer)
The Hucksters
(Makeup Designer)
Marie Antoinette
(Makeup Artist)
Trouble for Two
(Makeup Artist)
Stand Up and Fight
(Makeup Designer)
Adam's Rib
(Makeup Designer)
The Man from Down Under
(Makeup Designer)
The Romance of Rosy Ridge
(Makeup Designer)
The Kissing Bandit
(Makeup Designer)
The Vanishing Virginian
(Makeup Designer)
Undercurrent
(Makeup Designer)
Meet Me in St. Louis
(Makeup Designer)
Strange Cargo
(Makeup Artist)
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
(Makeup Designer)
On the Town
(Makeup Artist)
Nazi Agent
(Makeup Artist)
On Borrowed Time
(Makeup Artist)
Madame Bovary
(Makeup Artist)
The Postman Always Rings Twice
(Makeup Artist)
Ziegfeld Follies
(Makeup Designer)
Comrade X
(Makeup Artist)
Two Sisters from Boston
(Makeup Designer)
Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President
(Makeup Artist)
Bataan
(Makeup Artist)
The White Cliffs of Dover
(Makeup Designer)
Three Little Words
(Makeup Artist)
A Date with Judy
(Makeup Artist)
Dark Delusion
(Makeup Designer)
Thrill of a Romance
(Makeup Designer)
Conquest
(Makeup Artist)
Lady in the Lake
(Makeup Artist)
Above Suspicion
(Makeup Designer)
National Velvet
(Makeup Artist)
Cynthia
(Makeup Artist)
They Were Expendable
(Makeup & Hair)
Anchors Aweigh
(Makeup Designer)
Thousands Cheer
(Makeup Designer)
Lassie Come Home
(Makeup Artist)
Song of the Thin Man
(Makeup Designer)
For Me and My Gal
(Makeup Designer)
Escape
(Makeup Designer)
The Picture of Dorian Gray
(Makeup Designer)
Green Dolphin Street
(Makeup Designer)
The Yearling
(Makeup Designer)
Undercover Maisie
(Makeup Artist)
The Outriders
(Makeup Designer)
Ziegfeld Girl
(Makeup Designer)
Till the Clouds Roll By
(Makeup Designer)
The Wizard of Oz
(Makeup Designer)
Devil's Doorway
(Makeup Designer)
Border Incident
(Makeup Designer)
Act of Violence
(Makeup Designer)
Intruder in the Dust
(Makeup Artist)
Tension
(Makeup Designer)
White Cargo
(Makeup Designer)
The Big Trail
(Makeup Artist)
The Barkleys of Broadway
(Makeup Designer)