Dick Smith
Makeup Artist
About This Interview
Dick Smith was interviewed for five-and-a-half hours at his home workshop, in Sarasota, FL. Smith speaks at length about the difficulties of establishing television's first makeup department, at NBC. He discusses the challenges of working with the studio's hot lights, the live schedule that left little time for makeup changes, and developing the correct colors and textures to be seen on the first television screens. Smith recalls the many mishaps that occurred while doing live television, and how he eventually honed his skills and pioneered techniques that helped TV makeup departments both progress and grow. Smith details specific productions of Robert Montgomery Presents and Philco-Goodyear Playhouse as well as other programs, like Mark Twain Tonight! Jeff Kisseloff conducted the interview on May 15, 1996.
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Highlights
Dick Smith on the book that changed his life
Clip begins at: 13:22, Duration: 01m 17s
Dick Smith on problematic lipstick for black and white television
Clip begins at: 23:33, Duration: 01m 51s
Dick Smith on "acting" on live television as a boxer's handler in order to do makeup for a character that was a boxer
Clip begins at: 04:36, Duration: 01m 25s
Dick Smith on the most disastrous quick change he ever did
Clip begins at: 08:57, Duration: 05m 31s- Dick Smith on people's fascination with monsters
Clip begins at: 23:47, Duration: 04m 37s
Interview
- Part 1
- On his childhood and early influences; on his parents' divorce; on his years at Yale
Clip begins at: 0:57 - On discovering stage makeup; on scaring classmates at Yale with his monster makeup; on his interest in movies; on dressing up as Frankenstein's monster and scaring people at a movie theater
Clip begins at: 13:22 - Part 2
- On scaring moviegoers with Frankenstein makeup, contd; on the 1939 World's Fair
Clip begins at: 0:46 - On giving up the idea of being a dentist and deciding to be a makeup artist; on gathering supplies and materials for costumes and makeups at Gray's Drug Store in New York City
Clip begins at: 12:23 - On his father's Hollywood contacts and applying for his first job in television makeup
Clip begins at: 23:22 - Part 3
- On the NBC art department in the 1940s; on odd jobs before getting into television; on his big break into television; on practicing makeup at theater companies and reading books
Clip begins at: 0:51 - On what he learned from doing theatrical makeup; on standard makeup tools in the 1940s; on his first attempt at making plaster molds and applications for an Abraham Lincoln makeup; on learning about rubber mask grease paint
Clip begins at: 19:11 - Part 4
- On the tools of the makeup artist in the very early days of television; on fellow makeup artists in the 1940s and makeup tips from other artists
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On "blood" for The Godfather; on his first days at NBC; on using monitors to see how makeup would look on television; on actors' nerves in live television
Clip begins at: 11:52 - On the speed required for television makeup
Clip begins at: 25:51 - Part 5
- On his work schedule and staff at NBC; on his early makeup "lab"; on learning piano during his first days at NBC
Clip begins at: 0:44 - On his perfectionist ways; on budgets and administrative duties; on Fred Coe; on heading the makeup department
Clip begins at: 15:42 - On the creative atmosphere at NBC; on recollections of Fred Coe
Clip begins at: 22:30 - Part 6
- On problems that arose on long dramas; on difficulties with directors' and writers' demands; on makeup for James Beard's cooking show; on his on the job learning
Clip begins at: 0:51 - On the difficulties of television's hot lights; on the image orthicon camera; on the difficulties of close-ups; on problematic makeup for actor Vaughn Taylor
Clip begins at: 10:30 - Part 7
- On stock players during the early days of NBC; on a makeup mishap on a production of The Count of Monte Cristo; on mishaps on Kraft Television Theatre
Clip begins at: 0:57 - On the most disastrous quick change he ever did; on difficulties removing prosthetics; on keeping cool under the pressure of live television
Clip begins at: 08:57 - On special effects for film; on makeup for Hour Glass, Campus Hoopla and Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse
Clip begins at: 19:50 - Part 8
- On his staff and duties at NBC; on an incident with the king of Yugoslavia; on working with Milton Berle
Clip begins at: 0:53 - On tensions backstage during the early days of television; on quick makeup changes with actress Claire Bloom in a Robert Montgomery Presents production of "Victoria Regina"
Clip begins at: 09:41 - Part 9
- On feedback on his work from trade articles and supervisors; on the sense of accomplishment he feels from applying 3-D makeup; on experimenting with vinyl and foam latex
Clip begins at: 0:46 - On creating makeup and appliances for color television; on materials he used; on lessons he learned from doing makeup for The Exorcist - different budget from television
Clip begins at: 10:51 - On waterproof makeup; on gelatin molds (pre-latex); on advancements he made for bald caps
Clip begins at: 18:42 - Part 10
- On contributions to makeup that he spearheaded or invented; on trading information and tips with artists at other networks; on the supremacy of NBC's makeup department over CBS' and ABC's due to his own personal drive
Clip begins at: 0:50 - On leaving NBC; on working in film and with David Susskind in television and film
Clip begins at: 11:25 - On NBC censorship; on the Hollywood blacklist; on his greatest achievement at NBC
Clip begins at: 17:55 - Part 11
- On makeup disasters; On his favorite and most difficult actors to work with; on developing as an artist in live TV; on what he would have changed about his TV career
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On his thoughts on people with whom he's worked
Clip begins at: 15:43 - Part 12
- On his thoughts on people with whom he's worked; on makeup for David Susskind Productions
Clip begins at: 0:83 - On television's conversion from live to tape; On Power and the Glory, Man of La Mancha, and working with Maurenn Stapleton
Clip begins at: 15:03 - On photographs of his make-ups: him as the "Phantom of the Opera", as a derilect, as the "Hunchback of Notre Dame," of his Abraham Lincoln mask, of his makeup room, of Vaughn Taylor
Clip begins at: 22:47 - Part 13
- On photographs: of Eva Marie Saint, John Carradine, Vaughn Taylor, Gertrude Lawrence, Dennis King, Nicolaus Saunders, Jose Ferrar, Fred Allen, Rex Harrison, Ralph Richardson, Everette Sloan, Jimmy Durante, Winifred Heidt, and Nancy Marchand
Clip begins at: 0:43 - On photographs on cast members of Alice and Wonderland, Peter Pan, Born Yesterday, Caesar and Cleopatra, "Victoria Regina" and of Audrey Hepburn
Clip begins at: 16:28 - Part 14
- On photographs of makeup for Judith Anderson, Lee Cobb, Laurence Olivier, Sterling Hayden, Julie Harris, Patty Duke, Dustin Hoffman, Hal Holbrook and others
Clip begins at: 0:44 - On photographs of makeup for Jack Palance, Ed Flanders, Fred Gwyne, Jean Simmons, Marlon Brando, Linda Blair, Hal Holbrook, F. Murrary Abraham and others
Clip begins at: 15:51
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It IS a treasure. Thank you.
i saw him at IMATS and i was soo star struck to say hi :(
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