Mel Berns
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Mel Berns (September 27, 1897 - May 7, 1977)[1] was an American make-up artist. He was the Head of Makeup at RKO Pictures for more than twenty years.
Career[edit]
Berns began his career in the entertainment industry while working as an agent at the William Morris Agency.[2] Later he became the Head of Makeup at RKO Pictures for more than twenty years,[3] creating the makeup for Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and Katharine Hepburn's screentest. He was a lifelong friend of Ginger Rogers, who makes ample reference to their friendship in her autobiography: Ginger: My Story.[4]
He worked extensively in television after leaving RKO, notably the Perry Mason series. "The crew is giving it the best of Hollywood's techniques," Burr told columnist Erskine Johnson.[5] The crew included veteran make-up artist Berns.
The baseball player Babe Ruth had severe scarring from acne on his face. Mel Berns developed makeup for Ruth so that Ruth could feel more comfortable in public. A picture of Ruth and Berns shows Ruth in a smock and Berns applying makeup to his face. The picture is autographed to Berns by Babe Ruth.
Film credits[edit]
- A Bill of Divorcement (1932)
- Morning Glory (1933)
- King Kong (1933)[6]
- Christopher Strong (1933)
- Professional Sweetheart (1933)[7]
- Rafter Romance (1933)
- Little Women (1933)
- Flying Down to Rio (1933)
- The Son of Kong (1933)[6]
- Spitfire (1934)
- The Gay Divorcee (1934)
- Roberta (1935)
- The Nitwits (1935)
- Alice Adams (1935)
- Top Hat (1935)
- Sylvia Scarlett (1935)
- Follow The Fleet (1936)
- Mary of Scotland (1936)
- Swing Time (1936)
- Shall We Dance (1937)
- Stage Door (1937)
- Bringing Up Baby (1938)
- Carefree (1938)
- Bachelor Mother (1939)
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
- The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)
- Kitty Foyle: The Natural History of a Woman (1940)
- Citizen Kane (1941)
- The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
- Mr. Lucky (1943)
- The Curse of the Cat People (1944)
References[edit]
- ^ "Mel Berns Jr., TV and Film Make-up Artist, Dies at 71". Make-Up Artist Magazine. July 21, 2011. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
- ^ Lentz, H.M. (2012). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2011. Lentz's Performing Arts Obituaries. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-7864-9134-6. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
- ^ "Makeup artist Mel Berns Jr. dies at 71". Variety. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
- ^ Rogers, G. (1992). Ginger: My Story. G. K. Hall large print book series (in Danish). G.K. Hall. ISBN 978-0-8161-5436-4. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
- ^ Johnson, Erskine (August 16, 1957). "Perry Mason Ready to Challenge Como". The Brownsville Herald (Newspaper Enterprise Association)
- ^ a b Kinnard, R.; Crnkovich, T. (2013). The Films of Fay Wray. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. p. 87. ISBN 978-1-4766-0415-2. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
- ^ "Professional Sweetheart". 9 June 1933 – via IMDb.
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