William Julian Tuttle (April 13, 1912 – July 27, 2007) was an American

make-up artist A make-up artist, also called a makeup artist, and often shortened to MUA, is an artist whose medium is the human body, applying makeup and Prosthetic makeup, prosthetics on others for theatre, television, film, fashion, magazines and other simil ...

Early life

Born in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which th ...

, he was forced to leave school at a young age to support his mother and younger brother. After a series of odd-jobs and a brief stint in his own band, Tuttle moved to Los Angeles in 1930 and began taking art classes at the University of Southern California, where he would meet his future collaborator Charles Schram. Around the same time, he began working as a page at Fox Studios.

Career

Tuttle began working under makeup artist

Jack Dawn John Wesley Dawn (February 18, 1891 – June 20, 1961) was an American make-up artist whose career spanned 37 years and over 200 films. Life and career John ‘Jack’ Dawson was born in Covington, Kentucky to John Henry Dawn and Marla Shelton D ...

Twentieth Century Pictures Twentieth Century Pictures, Inc. was an independent Hollywood motion picture production company created in 1933 by Joseph Schenck (the former president of United Artists) and Darryl F. Zanuck from Warner Bros. Financial backing came from Sche ...

. In 1934, Tuttle and Dawn moved to

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

. Working as Dawn's assistant, Tuttle supervised the makeup work in such movies as '' The Wizard of Oz'' and '' Father of the Bride''. Tuttle created makeup for many of Hollywood's biggest stars, among them

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

(“Summer Stock”, 1950);

Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, singer, filmmaker, and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...

(“Singin’ in the Rain”, 1952);

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...

(“Pat and Mike”, 1952) and

Esther Williams Esther Jane Williams (August 8, 1921 – June 6, 2013) was an American competitive swimmer and actress. She set regional and national records in her late teens on the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team. Unable to compete in the 1940 Summer Ol ...

(“Million Dollar Mermaid”, 1952). Eventually, he worked his way up to head of the studio's makeup department. In the 1950s, he would be responsible for the makeup in ''

Singin' in the Rain ''Singin' in the Rain'' is a 1952 American musical romantic comedy film directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds and featuring Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell and Cyd C ...

'', ''

Seven Brides For Seven Brothers ''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' is a 1954 American musical film, directed by Stanley Donen, with music by Gene de Paul, lyrics by Johnny Mercer, and choreography by Michael Kidd. The screenplay, by Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, and Do ...

'', '' Forbidden Planet'', ''

North by Northwest ''North by Northwest'' is a 1959 American spy thriller film, produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason. The screenplay was by Ernest Lehman, who wanted to write "the Hitchcock picture ...

'' and ''

The Time Machine ''The Time Machine'' is a science fiction novella by H. G. Wells, published in 1895. The work is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel by using a vehicle or device to travel purposely and selectively for ...

''. He reused pieces he first created for ''The Time Machine'' in " Eye of the Beholder", one of his many ''Twilight Zone'' contributions. In 1965, Tuttle received a special

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

for his work on

George Pal George Pal (born György Pál Marczincsak; ; February 1, 1908 – May 2, 1980) was a Hungarian-American animator, film director and producer, principally associated with the fantasy and science-fiction genres. He became an American citizen after ...

's '' 7 Faces of Dr. Lao''; this was 17 years before makeup became an official Oscar category. Later work included '' Logan's Run'' and ''

Young Frankenstein ''Young Frankenstein'' is a 1974 American comedy horror film directed by Mel Brooks. The screenplay was co-written by Brooks and Gene Wilder. Wilder also starred in the lead role as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victor ...

''. Tuttle is the subject of the 1968 MGM short ''The King of the Duplicators'' where he demonstrated some of his work. He also appeared as himself in the documentary film ''

The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal ''The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal'' is a 1985 American documentary film about Academy Award-winning producer/director George Pal. It was written, directed, and produced by Arnold Leibovit. Summary The film follows Pal's career, beginning wi ...

'' (1985), produced and directed by Arnold Leibovit. Later in life, Tuttle managed his company known as Custom Color Cosmetics.

Personal life

Tuttle was married five times. He was the first husband of Oscar-winning film and television star Donna Reed. He and his third wife, Marie Kopicki, had two children, daughter Teresa, and son John. John predeceased his father. * Donna Reed (January 30,1943 – January 8,1945) (divorced) *Gloria Gilbert (19?? – 19??) (divorced) *Marie Kopicki (1946 – June 4, 1961) (her death); 2 children *Elizabeth L. Muskie (October 13, 1962 – 1966) (divorced) *Anita B Aros (March 25, 1967 – July 27, 2007) (his death) William Tuttle died, aged 95, from natural causes at his home in

Pacific Palisades, California Pacific Palisades is a neighborhood in the Westside region of Los Angeles, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles. Pacific Palisades was formally founded in 1921 by a Methodist organization, and in the years that followed be ...

, survived by his wife, Anita and his daughter, Teresa.

References

External links

NY Times obituary
* *
William Tuttle papers
Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences {{DEFAULTSORT:Tuttle, William 1912 births 2007 deaths Academy Honorary Award recipients American make-up artists Artists from Jacksonville, Florida People from Greater Los Angeles Burials at Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery, Santa Monica

Early life

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links