Monty Westmore, 84; member of the legendary family of Hollywood makeup
artists
He amassed more than 100 film credits during his nearly six-decade
career and worked closely with Joan Crawford and Paul Newman.
By Dennis McLellan
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
November 15, 2007
Monty Westmore, a third-generation member of the legendary family of
Hollywood makeup artists whose long career included "The Towering
Inferno," "Jurassic Park" and "Hook," has died. He was 84.
Westmore died Tuesday of prostate cancer at the Motion Picture &
Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, said
Christiana Benson, Westmore's cousin.
In a nearly six-decade career that began at Warner Bros. in the 1940s,
Westmore amassed more than 100 film credits, including "3 Women,"
"Stand By Me," "The Shawshank Redemption," "Se7en," "Star Trek:
Insurrection" and "Chaplin" -- as well as doing uncredited work on
films such as "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" and "Touch of Evil."
Westmore was Joan Crawford's personal makeup artist during the later
part of her career, which included the 1962 film "What Ever Happened
to Baby Jane?," which also starred Bette Davis.
He also was Paul Newman's favored makeup artist and worked on more
than a dozen of the actor's films over three decades, including "The
Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean," "The Verdict," "Fort Apache, the
Bronx," "The Color of Money" and "Message in a Bottle."
"I think once it was announced I was doing a film, it was just
automatic that Monty would be doing the makeup," Newman told The Times
on Wednesday.
"When working on a film, there is a lot of pressure, and he was so
low-key and kind of slipped underneath all that aggravation and
everything," Newman said. "It was very comforting to have him around.
He will be sorely missed."
Westmore's long career also included serving as the makeup artist for
the last seven years of "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet," the
classic TV sitcom that ran from 1952 to 1966.
In 1992, Westmore shared an Academy Award nomination for best makeup
for his work on the Steven Spielberg-directed film "Hook."
He also shared Emmy Award nominations for outstanding achievement in
makeup for the 1983 TV movie "Who Will Love My Children?" and for the
1996 TV movie "The Late Shift."
His last screen credit was as one of the makeup artists on the 2000
film "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."
The same year, a teary Westmore received a standing ovation when he
accepted the George Westmore Lifetime Achievement Award at the
inaugural Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards.
The award is named after Westmore's grandfather, who opened the first
small makeup department at a motion picture studio -- Selig Studios in
Los Angeles -- in 1917. He later became head of the makeup department
at MGM.
In an interview with Daily Variety a week before receiving the award,
Monty Westmore shared a few memories of his nearly 10 years working
with Crawford.
Because the legendary actress preferred to do her own makeup, it was
Westmore's job to lay out her makeup supplies and curl six pairs of
her false eyelashes each morning before filming began.
"She was wonderful at gluing them on herself, and when you watch her
pictures, you see how expressive her eyes looked," he said.
In addition to carrying Crawford's makeup to the set, Westmore also
carried another of her essentials: a cooler containing vodka and ice.
"She would always ask for a 'drink of water,' but I never once saw her
out of control," he recalled. In fact, "she always tried to get a
director tipsy when she wanted the script changed."
She tried doing that with a young Spielberg, but Westmore said he made
sure the glass contained more water than vodka.
"If she'd have smelled his glass she would have chopped my head off,"
he said.
It was only natural that Westmore would get into the family business.
All six of George Westmore's sons became acclaimed makeup artists.
Monte -- Monty Westmore's father -- was Rudolph Valentino's makeup
artist and later worked on "Gone with the Wind."
Perc and Ern Westmore jointly opened the first makeup department at
First National Pictures, which was later bought by Warner Bros. Perc
Westmore remained as head of the makeup department at Warner's and Ern
Westmore opened his own makeup department at RKO and later became head
of the makeup department at 20th Century Fox.
Wally Westmore became the longtime head of the makeup department at
Paramount. Bud Westmore became the longtime makeup department head at
Universal. And Frank, the youngest Westmore brother, worked on Cecil
B. DeMille's 1956 version of "The Ten Commandments" and later won an
Emmy for his work on the 1972 TV-movie "Kung Fu."
The brothers also teamed up in the mid-'30s to open the House of
Westmore, a prestigious salon on Sunset Boulevard.
In June, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced that the Westmore
family would receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next year.
"The legacy is they are the ones that modernized and professionalized
makeup departments at the movie studios," said film historian Marc
Wanamaker.
There are now fourth- and fifth-generation Westmores working in makeup
and production in Hollywood.
Born Montague George Westmore on June 12, 1923, in Los Angeles, the
makeup artist launched his career in 1943 as an apprentice to his
uncle, Perc Westmore, at Warner Bros. He then spent seven years at
Universal.
Westmore is survived by his wife, June; his children from a previous
marriage, Wendy, Missy, Terri-Anne and Monty; his brothers, Marvin and
Michael; and five grandchildren.
A celebration of his life is pending. Instead of flowers, the family
asks that donations be made in Westmore's memory to the George
Westmore Research Library & Museum, 916 W. Burbank Blvd., Suite R,
Burbank, CA, 91506.
--
"It's not that I'm afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it happens." - Woody Allen
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