Jack Dawn

Jack Dawn

Jack Dawn (February 10, 1892 - June 20, 1961) was an American make-up artist whose career spanned thirty-seven years. He worked on more than two hundred films, many of them regarded as classics by historians and moviegoers alike.

As a boy living on a Kentucky farm, Dawn chopped faces in sandstone he found on the banks of a nearby creek, using a chisel, a hammer, and a spoon. He eventually gravitated to Hollywood, where he found work as an extra, portraying an Indian brave for $3 a day. He served with the British during World War I, then returned to the American film capital to work as a make-up assistant and part-time actor at Universal Pictures. One of his first creations was a stiff, uncomfortable mask he wore in the role of an ape in 1925. In order to make masks that were more elastic and lifelike, he began to experiment with a variety of materials. After nine years of research while working at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he developed a synthetic plastic he called vinylite resin for which he received a patent. Its first application was used to create the Chinese faces for the mostly white cast of The Good Earth in 1937. Two years later, Dawn was assigned the task of giving life to three non-human characters - a scarecrow, a tin man, and a lion - in MGM's now-classic musical film The Wizard of Oz, based on L. Frank Baum's novel. He also created the green makeup for Wicked Witch of the West Margaret Hamilton and multiple looks for Frank Morgan, who portrayed five different characters in the film, as well as for the Munchkins. His work resulted in some of the most recognizable makeup designs ever created for a Hollywood production. In 1943, Dawn approached the San Diego Naval Hospital with an offer to help World War II soldiers whose faces and hands had been disfigured in battle. He created inlays that helped patients appear normal between multiple plastic surgery operations. Dawn worked with many of Hollywood's legendary performers, including Laurel and Hardy, Greta Garbo, Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Bert Lahr, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Greer Garson, Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Lucille Ball, Ingrid Bergman, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, Ginger Rogers, Lana Turner, Fred Astaire, and Betty Hutton. Dawn died in Glendale, California, five years after retiring from films. He was buried with an unmarked grave in Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery.

Costume & Make-Up

1950

Right Cross
Movie

Makeup Designer

1950

Devil's Doorway
Movie

Makeup Designer

1950

1950

1950

Mystery Street
Movie

Makeup Designer

1950

1950

1950

1950

1950

1950

1950

1950

Side Street
Movie

Makeup Supervisor

1950

Black Hand
Movie

Makeup Artist

1950

1950

The Outriders
Movie

Makeup Designer

1950

Ambush
Movie

Makeup Artist

1949

On the Town
Movie

Makeup Artist

1949

Tension
Movie

Makeup Designer

1949

1949

Adam's Rib
Movie

Makeup Designer

1949

Battleground
Movie

Makeup Artist

1949

1949

1949

Border Incident
Movie

Makeup Designer

1949

The Red Danube
Movie

Makeup Artist

1949

Madame Bovary
Movie

Makeup Artist

1949

The Great Sinner
Movie

Makeup Designer

1949

1949

1949

Little Women
Movie

Makeup Artist

1949

Act of Violence
Movie

Makeup Designer

1948

Hills of Home
Movie

Makeup Designer

1948

1948

1948

1948

1948

Easter Parade
Movie

Makeup Designer

1948

The Pirate
Movie

Makeup Artist

1948

Summer Holiday
Movie

Makeup Artist

1947

Good News
Movie

Makeup Designer

1947

Desire Me
Movie

Makeup Designer

1947

1947

Cynthia
Movie

Makeup Artist

1947

1947

The Hucksters
Movie

Makeup Designer

1947

1947

1947

1946

1946

The Yearling
Movie

Makeup Designer

1946

1946

Undercurrent
Movie

Makeup Designer

1946

Easy to Wed
Movie

Makeup Artist

1946

1946

1946

1946

The Harvey Girls
Movie

Makeup Designer

1945

1945

Ziegfeld Follies
Movie

Makeup Designer

1945

Anchors Aweigh
Movie

Makeup Designer

1945

1945

1945

Son of Lassie
Movie

Makeup Designer

1945

1944

1944

Mrs. Parkington
Movie

Makeup Designer

1944

Kismet
Movie

Makeup Designer

1944

1944

Bathing Beauty
Movie

Makeup Designer

1944

Gaslight
Movie

Makeup Designer

1943

1943

Thousands Cheer
Movie

Makeup Designer

1943

Bataan
Movie

Makeup Artist

1943

Above Suspicion
Movie

Makeup Designer

1943

1943

1942

White Cargo
Movie

Makeup Designer

1942

For Me and My Gal
Movie

Makeup Designer

1942

Tortilla Flat
Movie

Makeup Artist

1942

Nazi Agent
Movie

Makeup Artist

1942

1941

Ziegfeld Girl
Movie

Makeup Designer

1940

Comrade X
Movie

Makeup Artist

1940

1940

Escape
Movie

Makeup Designer

1940

1940

20 Mule Team
Movie

Makeup Designer

1940

Strange Cargo
Movie

Makeup Artist

1939

Ninotchka
Movie

Makeup Designer

1939

The Wizard of Oz
Movie

Makeup Designer

1939

1939

1939

1939

1938

Boys Town
Movie

Makeup Artist

1938

1937

Conquest
Movie

Makeup Artist

1937

Way Out West
Movie

Makeup Artist

1936

1935

1930

The Big Trail
Movie

Makeup Artist

Infos

Full Name
Jack Dawn
Gender
Male
Date of Birth
2/10/1892
Date of Death
6/20/1961