Dick Smith (make-up artist)
| Dick Smith | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Richard Emerson Smith June 26, 1922 Larchmont, New York, U.S. |
| Died | July 30, 2014 (aged 92) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Special make-up effects artist |
| Years active | 1945–1999 |
| Spouse(s) | Jocelyn De Rosa (m. January 10, 1944) |
| Children | 2 |
Richard Emerson "Dick" Smith (June 26, 1922 – July 30, 2014) was an American special make-up effects artist, (nicknamed "The Godfather of Make-Up") known for his work on such films as Little Big Man, The Godfather, The Exorcist, Taxi Driver, and Scanners. He won a 1985 Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling for his work on Amadeus and received a 2012 Academy Honorary Award for his career's work.
Smith was born in Larchmont, New York, the son of Coral (née Brown) and Richard Roy Smith. He attended the Wooster School in Danbury, Connecticut and Yale University, the latter where he studied pre-med, with the intention of entering dentistry, although he majored in zoology. After reading a book on theatrical make-up techniques titled Paint, Paste and Makeup, he began applying make-up for the Yale drama group. After graduation, Smith served in the United States Army during World War II.
Smith entered the field full-time after the war, and was entirely self-taught. He sent photographs of his work to the film industry, but his work was rejected until his father suggested he might try the emerging new medium of television. He was appointed as the first make-up director of WNBC (NBC's station in New York City), working there for fourteen years, often under producer David Susskind. Smith pioneered the development of prosthetic makeup, now better known as special make-up effects, from the basement of his home in Larchmont, New York, a district in which he mostly lived through his life. His colleagues though, he commented in a 2008 interview, "tended to be secretive. There was not at all that much make-up work in New York – and Hollywood might as well have been on another planet. They weren’t eager to share anything; and the union did its best to discourage whatever inclination there might have been."
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