Jack Pierce

star 3.2

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  • group Other Names:
    Janus Piccoulas, Jack P. Pierce, Janus Piccoula, John Pierce, Jack P. Pearce, Jack Pearce

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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.

Info

  • wc Gender: Male
  • calendar_month Birth Date: 1889-05-05
  • event Death Date 1968-07-19
  • school Known for: Costume & Make-Up
  • star Popularity: 3.2
  • info Birth Place Valdetsyou, Greece
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image Images

smart_display Movies and TV shows by Jack Pierce

movie_edit Directing

7.6

The Mad Ghoul

1943-11-12

7.6

Son of Dracula

1943-11-05

7.6

Dracula's Daughter

1936-05-11

7.6

The Ghost of Frankenstein

1942-03-13

7.6

Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man

1943-03-05

7.6

Son of Frankenstein

1939-01-13

7.6

House of Frankenstein

1944-12-01

7.6

The Amazing Transparent Man

1960-02-01

7.6

The Jungle Captive

1945-06-25

7.6

Night Key

1937-04-18

7.6

I Bury the Living

1958-07-01

7.6

Tower of London

1939-11-17

7.6

Beyond the Time Barrier

1960-09-08

7.6

The Egg and I

1947-05-01

7.6

The Kiss Before the Mirror

1933-05-04

7.6

Flesh and Fantasy

1943-10-29

7.6

Black Angel

1946-08-02

7.6

No Escape

1953-07-31

7.6

Tangier

1946-06-06

7.6

The House of the Seven Gables

1940-04-12

7.6

Time Out of Mind

1947-05-03

7.6

White Savage

1943-04-23

7.6

Gypsy Wildcat

1944-08-02

7.6

Sudan

1945-04-18

7.6

No. 5 Checked Out

1956-01-18

7.6

Master Minds

1949-11-27

7.6

Doctor Jim

1947-01-01

7.6

Temptation

1946-12-02

7.6

Little Miss Big

1946-01-01

7.6

The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry

1945-08-17

7.6

Scarlet Street

1945-12-25

7.6

Frankenstein

1931-11-21

7.6

Captive Wild Woman

1943-06-04

7.6

The Wanderer

1925-08-19

7.6

Imitation of Life

1934-11-23

7.6

King of Jazz

1930-04-20

7.6

The Black Cat

1934-05-07

7.6

Murders in the Rue Morgue

1932-01-27

7.6

Buck Privates Come Home

1947-04-04

7.6

The Naughty Nineties

1945-06-20

7.6

Little Giant

1946-02-22

7.6

Joan of Arc

1948-12-22

7.6

Canyon Passage

1946-07-17

7.6

Two in a Crowd

1936-10-03

7.6

By Candlelight

1933-12-18

7.6

The Lady of the Harem

1926-11-01

7.6

The Brain from Planet Arous

1957-10-01

7.6

The Killers

1946-08-30

7.6

The Creation of the Humanoids

1962-07-03

7.6

Pursuit to Algiers

1945-10-26

7.6

Dressed to Kill

1946-05-24

7.6

Terror by Night

1946-02-01

7.6

Show Boat

1936-05-17

7.6

The Wolf Man

1941-12-12

7.6

Frankenstein

1931-11-21

7.6

Dracula

1931-02-12

7.6

The Brute Man

1946-10-01

7.6

Back Street

1932-08-04

7.6

The Climax

1944-10-20

7.6

Cobra Woman

1944-05-12

7.6

The Mummy's Tomb

1942-10-23

7.6

The Mummy's Hand

1940-09-20

7.6

She-Wolf of London

1946-05-17

7.6

Werewolf of London

1935-05-13

7.6

House of Horrors

1946-03-29

7.6

Wives Under Suspicion

1938-06-03

7.6

Blades of the Musketeers

1950-11-24

7.6

Giant from the Unknown

1958-01-03

7.6

The Mummy's Ghost

1944-07-07

7.6

The Mummy's Curse

1944-12-22

7.6

House of Dracula

1945-12-07

7.6

Tales of Robin Hood

1951-12-21

7.6

Phantom of the Opera

1943-08-12

7.6

The Last Warning

1928-12-25

7.6

White Zombie

1932-07-28

7.6

The Cat Creeps

1946-05-17

7.6

Lincoln's Doctor's Dog

1955-12-14

7.6

The Silent Partner

1955-12-21

7.6

The Titanic Incident

1955-12-28

7.6

It's Always Sunday

7.6

Bride of Frankenstein

1935-04-20

7.6

Man-Made Monster

1941-03-28

7.6

The Pilgrimage Play

1949-12-12

7.6

Let Them Live

1937-04-25

7.6

Half a Sinner

1934-06-01

7.6

Great Expectations

1934-10-22

7.6

The Mummy

1932-12-22

7.6

Magnificent Doll

1946-12-08

7.6

The Spider Woman Strikes Back

1946-03-22

7.6

Her Adventurous Night

1946-06-05

7.6

The Man Who Laughs

1928-04-27

7.6

Jungle Woman

1944-06-01

7.6

The Big Cage

1933-05-01

7.6

Black Friday

1940-02-29

7.6

The Invisible Ray

1936-01-20

7.6

The Raven

1935-07-08

7.6

The Invisible Man

1933-11-03