As we look back on the cinematic pioneers of the 20th century, no
individual is more significant in his field than genius makeup artist
Jack Pierce, the legendary monster-maker who worked in the 1930s and
1940s at Universal Studios during its classic horror period. Pierce's
story is equal parts triumph and tragedy. After emigrating to the US
from Greece at the turn of the century, he attempted to play baseball,
unsuccessfully trying out for a semi-professional team in California
after achieving some notoriety as a shortstop in Chicago. He next
worked in the fledgling motion picture industry in the 1910s and 1920s,
trying his hand at a variety of jobs from nickelodeon manager to
stuntman to assistant cameraman. At this time Universal was a nascent
little studio in the San Fernando Valley, referred to as "Universal
City" in 1915, after only three years in business. The brainchild of
former haberdasher Carl Laemmle, Universal
was the home to many silent shorts in the 1910s, several of which
featured the talents of an unknown actor named
Lon Chaney, who got work by creating his own
unique makeups, transforming his entire face and body in the process.
Pierce eventually drifted into acting, then makeup, working at
Vitagraph and the original Fox Studios in the 1920s. By 1928, after
Chaney had left to freelance stardom, Universal made Pierce head of the
makeup department, where he worked on the last of the silent films made
at the studio. His fortune was cemented when Carl Laemmle made his son,
Carl Laemmle Jr., head of production as
a 21st-birthday present. Called "Junior" by his peers and colleagues,
Laemmle Jr. decided to produce film versions of classic horror novels,
encouraged by Chaney's huge successes with
Der Glöckner von Notre Dame (1923)
and
Das Phantom der Oper (1925)
at Universal in the mid-'20s. Laemmle's personal tastes couldn't have
been any more fortuitous for Pierce: from 1930-1947 Pierce created some
of cinema history's most distinguishable screen characters.
In 1930 Dracula (1931) was first
produced, and though Bela Lugosi refused to
let Pierce apply his makeup (the actor had come from the stage where he
always did his own work), Pierce came up with the styling for the
vampire character and his many female victims. Immediately following
the success of "Dracula", Junior wanted a follow-up, which led to the
production of Frankenstein (1931) in
1931. Though many have argued as to whether director
James Whale, actor
Boris Karloff or Junior himself
contributed to the makeup, the driving force behind the look of the
character unquestionably belonged to Jack Pierce. Every morning Karloff
sat for four uncomfortable hours, suffering the makeup's high levels of
toxicity, as Pierce and his assistants applied the head, facial buildup
and layers of padding and costume modifications that would make him
into the movies' most memorable monster. For the 43-year-old Karloff
and 42-year-old Pierce it was a remarkable achievement--their legend
would have been guaranteed even if they had stopped their unique
artist-performer collaboration right then and there. Furthering their
reputation, though, Pierce and Karloff teamed the following year to
create Die Mumie (1932). Though the
actual creature is only seen for a matter of seconds, it was another
unforgettable achievement in cinema horror when "In-Ho-Tep" came alive
and paraded across an unearthed Egyptian tomb. Karloff spent most of
the picture as "Ardath Bey", another Pierce incarnation, the doomed
prince looking for his lost bride.
The Laemmles also tried to get new cinematic treatments of "Phantom of
the Opera" and "Hunchback" off the ground at this time. Lon Chaney had
died in 1930, but many of their efforts stalled. A version of "The Wolf
Man" with Karloff was even planned, but this, too, would be derailed
due to production problems. If you can't initiate wholly original
projects, why not try a sequel? Universal did just that, starting a
trend that would result in numerous Dracula, Frankenstein and Mummy
spin-offs, which became its trademark.
First on the boards was what would be the final horror film in the
Laemmle period,
Frankensteins Braut (1935).
Revamping his first version of the monster, Pierce also created the
famous makeup and designed the electric hairstyle for
Elsa Lanchester's bride. Once again,
Pierce created an iconic movie character who only appeared on screen
very briefly at the end of the film. Then, in an instance of commerce
overwhelming art, the Laemmles sold the studio in 1937, ushering in a
series of revolving studio heads at Universal for the next 10 years.
In the many comings and goings of Universal executives in the late
1930s and early 1940s, Pierce did manage to retain his level of
high-quality character makeups in several cranked-out sequels and
B-movies. For Lugosi, with whom Pierce had locked horns several years
earlier on "Dracula", Pierce created "Ygor" in 1939's
Frankensteins Sohn (1939).
Conceived as a man who couldn't be hanged, the bearded, gnarled-toothed
wretch became Lugosi's most original character in years and put him
back on the map. Two years later Pierce pulled out all the stops for
Der Wolfsmensch (1941) with
Lon Chaney Jr. in the title role. Though
the two reportedly did not get along--Chaney did not like wearing the
makeup or undergoing the lengthy application and removal period--Pierce
excelled again with his werewolf concept, utilizing a design he had
created for Karloff a decade earlier. Originally intended as a B-movie,
Der Wolfsmensch (1941) was a true
horror classic, and Pierce's version of the character has been the
model for the numerous werewolves that have since come to the screen.
The final, original Pierce makeup arrived in 1943 with
Phantom der Oper (1943).
Starring Claude Rains (it would be the only
Jack Pierce monster movie shot in color). Though his treatment of
Claude Rains' makeup--revealed only at the
end of the film--was cut down at the request of the producers (Pierce's
original concept was considered too hideous!), it stands as another
horror movie landmark.
Jack Pierce's reign at Universal ended shortly after WWII when the
studio merged with International Pictures and replaced many of its
department heads. He had been a makeup supervisor for 19 years and
worked at the studio for 30 years, but Pierce ended his career working
in low-budget independent films and television projects during the
final 20 years of his life. His last project was working as makeup
department head for the TV show
Mister Ed (1961) from 1961-1964.
Unthinkably, he died in virtual obscurity in 1968. However, today's
artists still view Pierce's work as a relevant force in the annals of
cinema crafts, and Pierce has been honored with a tribute DVD, a
lifetime achievement award by the makeup union, and a proposed
forthcoming star on Hollywood Boulevard.
