Makeup Expert Frank Westmore Dies

Frank Westmore, last of the six brothers who dominated the motion picture makeup arts for decades, died Tuesday at St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank.

Hospital spokeswoman Rhoda Weiss said Westmore, 62, was admitted there Friday for treatment of a longstanding cardiac condition and died at 6:10 p.m. Tuesday.

Frank Westmore was the youngest son of George Westmore, a sometime “tonsorial saloon� operator from the Isle of Wight, who moved to the United States in the early 1900s.

He came to Hollywood when such stars as Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and Billie Burke were still doing their own makeup.

Book Published

“And making a real hash of it too,� Frank wrote, in an autobiographical book, “The Westmores of Hollywood,� published a decade ago.

George Westmore moved into the gap, experimenting with various makeup techniques, ultimately setting the standard for that craft and maintaining his dominance into the 1950s.

His sons, Perc, Mont, Ern, Wally, Bud and Frank, were each taught the art of film makeup in turn, and each established himself as czar of his art at one of the studios.

The brothers also opened a Hollywood beauty salon, The House of Westmore, in 1936, and sold it in the mid-1960s.

Bud, who headed the makeup department at Universal for 24 years, and Wally, who was with Paramount for 43 years, were perhaps the most famous of the brothers, but the others were well known inside the film industry.

Mont Westmore supervised makeup for “Gone With the Wind,� and Perc was a frequently quoted international authority on feminine beauty.

Working on Film

At the time of his death, Frank Westmore was still active in his chosen field, working on a television movie based on the long-running TV series, “I Dream of Jeannie,� and had just finished a TV pilot, “55 Limes Street,� with Robert Wagner.

Although the last of the Westmore second generation, Frank was not the last Westmore in the film business.

His nephews, Mont Jr., Marvin, and Michael are all active in the field.

Frank Westmore is survived by his wife, Gloria.