Jack Pierce
- Known for
- Costume & Make-Up
- Born
- May 5, 1889
- Died
- July 19, 1968 (aged 79)
- Birthplace
- Valdetsyou, Greece
Biography
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.
Known For
Filmography
The Creation of the Humanoids
Movie · Makeup Artist
The Amazing Transparent Man
Movie · Makeup Artist
Beyond the Time Barrier
Movie · Makeup Artist
I Bury the Living
Movie · Makeup Artist
Giant from the Unknown
Movie · Makeup Artist
The Brain from Planet Arous
Movie · Makeup Artist
No. 5 Checked Out
Movie · Makeup Artist
Prima Donna
Movie · Makeup Artist
Affair in Sumatra
Movie · Makeup Artist
The Titanic Incident
Movie · Makeup Artist
No Escape
Movie · Makeup Artist
Tales of Robin Hood
Movie · Makeup Artist
Blades of the Musketeers
Movie · Makeup Artist
Master Minds
Movie · Makeup Artist
The Pilgrimage Play
Movie · Makeup Artist
Joan of Arc
Movie · Makeup Artist
The Egg and I
Movie · Makeup Artist
Time Out of Mind
Movie · Makeup Artist
Doctor Jim
Movie · Makeup Artist
Buck Privates Come Home
Movie · Makeup Artist
Black Angel
Movie · Makeup Supervisor
Tangier
Movie · Makeup Artist
Temptation
Movie · Makeup Artist
Little Miss Big
Movie · Makeup Department Head
Little Giant
Movie · Makeup Artist
Canyon Passage
Movie · Makeup Artist
The Killers
Movie · Makeup Department Head
Dressed to Kill
Movie · Makeup Department Head
Terror by Night
Movie · Makeup Department Head
The Brute Man
Movie · Makeup Artist
She-Wolf of London
Movie · Makeup Artist
House of Horrors
Movie · Makeup Artist
The Cat Creeps
Movie · Makeup Artist
Magnificent Doll
Movie · Makeup Department Head
The Spider Woman Strikes Back
Movie · Makeup Artist
Her Adventurous Night
Movie · Makeup & Hair
The Jungle Captive
Movie · Makeup Artist
Sudan
Movie · Makeup Artist
The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry
Movie · Makeup Artist
Scarlet Street
Movie · Makeup Artist
The Naughty Nineties
Movie · Makeup Artist
Pursuit to Algiers
Movie · Makeup Department Head
House of Dracula
Movie · Makeup Artist
House of Frankenstein
Movie · Makeup Artist
Gypsy Wildcat
Movie · Makeup Artist
The Climax
Movie · Makeup Artist
Cobra Woman
Movie · Makeup Artist
The Mummy's Ghost
Movie · Makeup Artist
The Mummy's Curse
Movie · Makeup Artist
Jungle Woman
Movie · Makeup Artist
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
Movie · Makeup Artist
The Mad Ghoul
Movie · Makeup Artist
Son of Dracula
Movie · Makeup Artist
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
Movie · Makeup Artist
Flesh and Fantasy
Movie · Makeup Artist
White Savage
Movie · Makeup Artist
Captive Wild Woman
Movie · Makeup Artist
Phantom of the Opera
Movie · Makeup Artist
The Ghost of Frankenstein
Movie · Makeup Artist
The Mummy's Tomb
Movie · Makeup Artist
The Wolf Man
Movie · Makeup Artist
Man-Made Monster
Movie · Makeup Artist
The House of the Seven Gables
Movie · Makeup Artist
The Mummy's Hand
Movie · Makeup Artist
Black Friday
Movie · Makeup Artist
Son of Frankenstein
Movie · Makeup Artist
Tower of London
Movie · Makeup Artist
Wives Under Suspicion
Movie · Makeup Artist
Night Key
Movie · Makeup Artist
Let Them Live
Movie · Makeup Artist
Dracula's Daughter
Movie · Makeup Artist
Two in a Crowd
Movie · Makeup Artist
Show Boat
Movie · Makeup Artist
The Invisible Ray
Movie · Makeup Artist
Werewolf of London
Movie · Makeup Artist
Bride of Frankenstein
Movie · Makeup Artist
The Raven
Movie · Makeup Designer
The Good Fairy
Movie · Makeup Artist
Imitation of Life
Movie · Makeup Artist
The Black Cat
Movie · Makeup Artist
Half a Sinner
Movie · Makeup Artist
Great Expectations
Movie · Makeup Artist
The Kiss Before the Mirror
Movie · Makeup Artist
By Candlelight
Movie · Makeup Artist
The Big Cage
Movie · Makeup Artist
The Invisible Man
Movie · Makeup Artist
Murders in the Rue Morgue
Movie · Makeup Artist
Back Street
Movie · Makeup Artist
White Zombie
Movie · Makeup Artist
The Mummy
Movie · Makeup Designer
Dracula
Movie · Makeup Artist
Frankenstein
Movie · Makeup Artist
King of Jazz
Movie · Makeup Artist
The Last Warning
Movie · Makeup Artist
The Man Who Laughs
Movie · Makeup Artist
The Lady of the Harem
Movie · Makeup Artist
The White Black Sheep
Movie · Makeup Artist
The Wanderer
Movie · Makeup Artist