The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1930-09-02
BY DAN THOMAS
NEA Service Writer

1893 -
Copyright, 1880. by NEA Service. Incl
HOLLYWOOD, Sept. 2.-When
IL Lon Chaney's biggest pictures
were being filmed his dressing room
at the studio often looked more like
a carpenter shop or the ~dissecting
room Of a medical college than any
thing else.
Long-haired wigs strange
braces and jackets, meant to deform
the body -. glass eyes, Of milky
Whiteness . . Jumps of putty for
building up a nose or the cheek
bones . human hair, to be
clipped and glued to the face, in in
dividual strands, perhaps for the
struggling beard Of a Chinese
face paints. wax, cold cream, face
powder-and goodness only knows
what else.
1t was a simple dressing room,
with all the lack Of flourish that
marked the great actors private
life.
Just a long shelf with a mirror
in the center, the brightest of cleo
trio lights %converging at angles be-
fore it, a few drawers filled with
odds and ends of his peculiar trade
and all sorts of garish clothing,
medieval robes, false eyebrows and
whatnot scattered around.
Such was the workshop of the
master character actor of the gen.
eration-the man who could change
his face into a. thousand others.
GONE of Chaney's remarkable art
- in makeup was secret and will
remain so, but a lot of it is known.
Because OF his unusual ability
along this line, ne was selected to
write the article On character make
up in the Encyclopedia Britannica.
Every member of the theatrical
profession knows the basic essen
tials. But the directions CLANCY
gave will prove of keen interest to
every layman who has watched this
master of character representation
on the screen and wonder how he
achieved his %grotesque and hideous
makeups.
TTSE putty or plastic wax if you
~ want to build up the nose,
heighten the cheek bones, or blot
out the eyebrows.
If you want to puff out the face
as he did in 1.-THE Hunchback of
Notre Dame"-cotton wool should
be inserted between the teeth or in
the cheeks.
To achieve that baggy appear
ance under the eyes-and who
doesn't remember that hideous
character in "The Hunchback of
Notre Dame"-you should put a
little putty, cut into a crescent
shape, paint it and fix it tight with
spirit gum.
The nose may be broadened-as
was his as the greasy-faced Sergi
in "Mockery"-by inserting the
clipped end of a rubber cigar holder
in each nostril.
False teeth-like the jagged ones
he wore as the vampire in London
After Midnight"-can be made by
fitting dental rubber over the nat
ural teeth, carving the sort of
teeth wanted on this dental rubber
and painting the whole with tooth
enamel to make it glisten.
GEARS are easy to simulate. You
~ merely brush on collodion,
which draws the skin. If you want
a deeper scar, apply a second coat Of
collodion.
To remove, just put on a little
more collodion, which will soften the
earlier coats and permit them to
peel right off.
A false beard? The best are
made with crepe hair, a little lighter
than the natural hair. Just take a
hank of it, comb we'll, press between
the leaves of a book, cut off straight
at the edge. Apply spirit gum to
the face, attach the hairs and trim
with scissors to get the desired eff
feet.
Gray hair? Starch or alumni
mum powder will do it. Aluminium
powder is better, but much harder
to wash off. To make a blonde of a
brunei, use polished brass" bronze
powder, which is sold in paint stores.
= e q
CUPPOSE you want to play the
~ part of a very old man. Apply
a thin coat of putty to your face