January 17, 2015 /

Jack Dawn – he brought us the Cowardly Lion

Jack Dawn was an extraordinary make-up artist at MGM who came up with pliable facial prosthetics that supplied us with the likes of the Cowardly Lion…

During WWII he volunteered to make temporary applications for disfigured soldiers to make them appear more normal in between reconstructive surgeries. To read his credits is an exercise in amazement; The Good Earth, The Wizard of Oz, Ninotchka, The Philadelphia Story, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Gaslight, Father of the Bride… And, that’s just a random sampling. Here he is applying make-up on actress Ruth Hussey:

Jack Dawn, head of the make-up department at MGM:

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Tagsbehind the scenes Bert Lahr Cowardly Lion During WWII he volunteered to make temporary applications for disfigured soldiers to make them appear more normal in between reconstructive surgeries Jack Dawn Jack Dawn came up with pliable facial prosthetics that supplied us with the likes of the Cowardly Lion. Katharine Hepburn Ruth Hussey Wizard of Oz WWII

4 Comments

  1. metan
    September 1, 2012

    I always loved that Cowardly Lions face 🙂
    I’m sure helping soliders would have been a very satisfying way to use his skills.

  2. Gallivanta
    January 16, 2014

    He looks like a smartly dressed doctor or specialist.

  3. George Kaplan
    January 16, 2014

    Oh, this is very interesting. To not only have created the Cowardly Lion’s make-up (“Pud ’em uuup, pud ’em uuup!”) but to have invented prostheses to assist men hideously disfigured in that goddamned war, incredible.

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