RIP: Richard Corson
Kelly
RICHARD CORSON DEAD AT 82
Brooklyn, NY - The man who wrote the
book is gone. After months of rumors it has
finally been confirmed. Richard Corson,
author of Stage Makeup passed away on
January 13, 1999 of Alzheimers disease.
An eminent theatre make-up authority, he
was consultant for productions on and off
Broadway, including Tony Richardson’s
Arturo VI starring Christopher Plummer, The
Passion of Joseph D, for which he replicated Russian leaders
includining Peter Falk’s Stalin, Stella Adler’s production of
Johnny Johnson, and Hal Holbrook’s Mark Twain Tonight.
He was educated at DePauw University and Louisiana State
University. He was Adjunct Professor at Southern Methodist
University, taught at USC-Long Beach, University of Minnesota,
and headed the theatre make-up departmeht at the Hollywood
Academy in the 1950s, training future makeup artists for
television and the Metropolitan Opera. For many years he toured
the university circuit with his lecture demonstration, “An Actor
Makes Up”, and gave seminars in drama departments throughout
the country.
The first edition of Stage Makeup was published in 1942 by F. S.
Crofts & Co. and has been the cornerstone of virtually every
make-up artist's education since that time. Corson was working
on a ninth edition at his time of death. The current publishers,
Alan & Bacon are completing the book. Corson's other works
include Fashions in Hair: The First 5,000 Years, Fashions in Makeup:
From Ancient to Modern Times, and Fashions in Eyeglasses: From the
14th Century to the Present Day.
Corson was born on December 27, 1917. He had resided in
New York City since 1945.