Jack Pierce
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jack Pierce (born Janus Piccoula; May 5, 1889 – July 19, 1968) was a Hollywood make-up artist best remembered for creating the iconic makeup worn by Boris Karloff in Frankenstein (1931), along with various other classic monster make-ups for Universal Studios. In the 1920s, Pierce embarked on a series of jobs in cinema—cinema manager, stuntman, actor, even assistant director, but within a few years he settled on mastering makeup. The head of Universal, Carl Laemmle, was won over with his creative abilities and hired full-time by the studio. Universal's first "talkie" horror film, Dracula (1931), eschewed elaborate horror make-up. Pierce designed a special color greasepaint for Bela Lugosi for his vampire character, but Lugosi insisted on applying his own make-up. For all film appearances of the character thereafter, Pierce instituted a different look entirely, recasting Dracula as a man with graying hair and a mustache. The most significant creation during Pierce's time at the studio was Frankenstein (1931), with Lugosi originally cast as the Monster. Pierce came up with a design which was horrific as well as logical in the context of the story. So, where Henry Frankenstein has accessed the brain cavity, there is a scar and a seal, and the now famous "bolts" on the neck are actually electrodes: carriers for the electricity used to revive the stitched-up corpse. As the head of Universal's make-up department, Pierce is credited with designing and creating the iconic make-ups for films like Frankenstein, The Mummy (1932), The Wolf Man (1941), and their various sequels associated with the characters. Utilizing his "out-of-the-kit" techniques, Pierce's make-ups were often very grueling and took a considerable amount of time to apply. Pierce was always reluctant to use latex appliances, favoring his technique of building facial features out of cotton and collodion, or nose putty. Pierce eventually started using latex appliances, most notably a rubber nose for Lon Chaney Jr. in The Wolf Man (1941) (the edges of the appliance are clearly visible through most of the film), and a rubber head piece for Boris Karloff in Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939). He did a great many historical, old age and character make-ups in TV anthology series such as Screen Directors Playhouse, You Are There and Telephone Time. One episode of that show, a drama called The Golden Junkman, featured Lon Chaney Jr. as an unlettered but kindly Armenian junk dealer who ages from his 30s to his 70s in the course of the story, which Pierce handled with aplomb. Pierce died in 1968 from uremia. Jack Pierce's enduring work at Universal has become a huge influence to many in the entertainment field, including make-up artists Rick Baker and Tom Savini. In 2003, Pierce was recognized with a lifetime achievement award from the Hollywood Make-up Artist and Hair Stylist Guild. In May 2013, Cinema Makeup School in Los Angeles dedicated a memorial gallery in his honor.
He Who Made Monsters: The Life and Art of Jack Pierce
(Self (archive footage))
Masquerade
(Second Reporter)
Isle of Sunken Gold
The Enchanted Kiss
(Dwarf)
Riders of the Law
(Pete Gushard)
Jack Pierce: The Man Who Made the Monsters
(Self (archive footage))
The Circus
(Man Operating Ropes (uncredited))
Midsomer Murders
(Grady Felton)
The Mad Ghoul
(Makeup Artist)
Son of Dracula
(Makeup Artist)
Dracula's Daughter
(Makeup Artist)
The Ghost of Frankenstein
(Makeup Artist)
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
(Makeup Artist)
Son of Frankenstein
(Makeup Artist)
House of Frankenstein
(Makeup Artist)
The Amazing Transparent Man
(Makeup Artist)
The Jungle Captive
(Makeup Artist)
Night Key
(Makeup Artist)
I Bury the Living
(Makeup Artist)
Tower of London
(Makeup Artist)
Beyond the Time Barrier
(Makeup Artist)
The Egg and I
(Makeup Artist)
The Kiss Before the Mirror
(Makeup Artist)
Flesh and Fantasy
(Makeup Artist)
Black Angel
(Makeup Supervisor)
No Escape
(Makeup Artist)
Tangier
(Makeup Artist)
The House of the Seven Gables
(Makeup Artist)
Time Out of Mind
(Makeup Artist)
White Savage
(Makeup Artist)
Gypsy Wildcat
(Makeup Artist)
Sudan
(Makeup Artist)
No. 5 Checked Out
(Makeup Artist)
Master Minds
(Makeup Artist)
Doctor Jim
(Makeup Artist)
Temptation
(Makeup Artist)
Little Miss Big
(Makeup Department Head)
The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry
(Makeup Artist)
Scarlet Street
(Makeup Artist)
Captive Wild Woman
(Makeup Artist)
The Wanderer
(Makeup Artist)
Imitation of Life
(Makeup Artist)
King of Jazz
(Makeup Artist)
The Black Cat
(Makeup Artist)
Murders in the Rue Morgue
(Makeup Artist)
Buck Privates Come Home
(Makeup Artist)
The Naughty Nineties
(Makeup Artist)
Little Giant
(Makeup Artist)
Joan of Arc
(Makeup Artist)
Canyon Passage
(Makeup Artist)
Two in a Crowd
(Makeup Artist)
By Candlelight
(Makeup Artist)
The Lady of the Harem
(Makeup Artist)
The Brain from Planet Arous
(Makeup Artist)
The Killers
(Makeup Department Head)
The Creation of the Humanoids
(Makeup Artist)
Pursuit to Algiers
(Makeup Department Head)
Dressed to Kill
(Makeup Department Head)
Terror by Night
(Makeup Department Head)
Show Boat
(Makeup Artist)
The Wolf Man
(Makeup Artist)
Dracula
(Makeup Artist)
The Brute Man
(Makeup Artist)
Back Street
(Makeup Artist)
The Climax
(Makeup Artist)
Cobra Woman
(Makeup Artist)
The Mummy's Tomb
(Makeup Artist)
The Mummy's Hand
(Makeup Artist)
She-Wolf of London
(Makeup Artist)
Werewolf of London
(Makeup Artist)
House of Horrors
(Makeup Artist)
Wives Under Suspicion
(Makeup Artist)
Blades of the Musketeers
(Makeup Artist)
Giant from the Unknown
(Makeup Artist)
The Mummy's Ghost
(Makeup Artist)
The Mummy's Curse
(Makeup Artist)
House of Dracula
(Makeup Artist)
Tales of Robin Hood
(Makeup Artist)
Phantom of the Opera
(Makeup Artist)
The Last Warning
(Makeup Artist)
White Zombie
(Makeup Artist)
The Cat Creeps
(Makeup Artist)
Lincoln's Doctor's Dog
(Makeup & Hair)
The Silent Partner
(Makeup Department Head)
The Titanic Incident
(Makeup Artist)
It's Always Sunday
(Makeup Artist)
Bride of Frankenstein
(Makeup Artist)
Man-Made Monster
(Makeup Artist)
The Pilgrimage Play
(Makeup Artist)
Let Them Live
(Makeup Artist)
Half a Sinner
(Makeup Artist)
Great Expectations
(Makeup Artist)
The Mummy
(Makeup Designer)
Magnificent Doll
(Makeup Department Head)
The Spider Woman Strikes Back
(Makeup Artist)
Her Adventurous Night
(Makeup & Hair)
The Man Who Laughs
(Makeup Artist)
Jungle Woman
(Makeup Artist)
The Big Cage
(Makeup Artist)
Black Friday
(Makeup Artist)
The Invisible Ray
(Makeup Artist)
The Raven
(Makeup Designer)
The Invisible Man
(Makeup Artist)