Makeup Man by Michael Westmore & Jake Page

Author:Michael Westmore & Jake Page [Westmore, Michael & Page, Jake]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lyons Press
Published: 2016-05-25T16:00:00+00:00

Ms. B (and the “B” Does Not Stand for Bette)

When you think about movie icon Bette Davis, a lot of things might pop into your mind. The arresting Southern firebrand of Jezebel, the flamboyant theatrical diva of All About Eve, and the demented has-been of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? The Bette Davis I knew was all of these characters combined, with a few qualities she never portrayed on-screen thrown in.

In the 1930s and ’40s, Bette Davis was the Academy Award darling of Warner Bros. Studios, one of the most famous actresses in Hollywood. Her personal makeup artist was my uncle, Perc Westmore. They had a star/artist relationship that moviegoers outside the motion picture industry don’t understand. It’s like this: You have a studio family and a personal family. Bette and Perc were very close. Most people don’t think of Bette Davis in an erotic way, but in the early days, she preferred to have her makeup applied while lying on a couch totally nude—that’s right, buck naked—and handsome Uncle Perc was the artist to fulfill her desire.

In the later years of Bette’s life, when the aging star was being presented with a multitude of awards and working on her final screen projects, I became her makeup artist. Since she always liked to be made up at her apartment in Hollywood (thank goodness, not in the nude anymore), I would have to pack all my equipment, carry it up the stairs, and set up in a little dark room. I referred to it as the “Dark Hole of Calcutta.” It was so dark I always had to take additional lights just to keep from sticking a brush into those “Bette Davis Eyes.”

One of her last television films was Right of Way in 1983, costarring Jimmy Stewart and Melinda Dillon. I was hired to make up Bette, and my uncle Frank was hired to do Jimmy. Frank had to drop out due to health reasons, so he asked me to handle Jimmy too. I asked Bette if it was all right with her, and she replied, “Of course, darling.”

The very next day, however, I found out that Bette had replaced me, so I ended up handling Jimmy and Melinda. Little did I know, this was a blessing in disguise. Every morning I would make up Melinda and then head over to Jimmy. After he was made up, he liked to center and hold his hairpiece while I glued it down and combed it into place. During those mornings, Bette would storm into his trailer with her personal rewrites and script changes. Because his eyesight was failing, she would read them to him. He would sigh and then agree to anything she wanted, or should I say, demanded. Ms. B would then descend on George Schaefer, the director, and announce to him that this is what she “and Jimmy” had decided to do. The wonderful and compassionate George would also agree to her changes. I must say, Jimmy Stewart and George Schaefer were two of the most wonderful artists you could ever meet and work with.

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