 The career of Ben Nye as seen in this retrospective tribute from his son, Dana, focuses on many of Ben’s contributions to the performing arts industry.
Ben was born in 1908 in Broken Bow, Nebraska, moved to Omaha where he attended high school, and then studied geology at the University of Nebraska. He moved to Los Angeles in 1926 where he worked as a commercial artist for a department store until the Great Depression.
In 1934, Ben became an apprentice in the makeup department, studying under Monte Westmore. After he passed his Journeyman test, he began working at Fox on “second reelers,” more commonly called “B” movies. Ben joined Mr. Westmore as his assistant on David O. Selznick’s Gone With the Wind where Ben also took care of the principal actors and actresses including Olivia de Havilland, Leslie Howard, and Hattie McDaniel.
While attending to Miss Daniel, who played Scarlett’s nanny, Ben noticed there were no makeup shades for ethnic performers. He had to carefully blend colors so she would not appear red or “pasty”. Twenty years later, he would “fix” the problem by developing foundation shades for ethnic skin tones.
In 1944, studio mogul, Darryl F. Zanuck, asked Ben to take over the Fox Makeup Department. Ben reorganized the department and worked hard to build a team. ‘I gave my crew the respect they deserved. I listened to their opinions, and they soon learned I knew their work was important.’
In addition to those included in this exhibition, Ben worked with hundreds of notable actors including James Stewart, Gregory Peck, Lana Turner, Cary Grant, Richard Burton, Joanne Woodward and Elvis Presley.
While at Fox, Ben supervised over 500 feature films and television productions. He trained dozens of artists in one of the finest apprenticeship programs in Hollywood. It was because of Ben’s love for the craft that he willingly and generously shared his makeup techniques with the next generation of artists.
After retiring from Fox, Ben set his sights on making his cosmetics available to the entertainment industry, and the result is Ben Nye Makeup, where his legacy continues through the makeup line that bears his name.
His son, Dana, will be honored with a Distinguished Achievement Award as part of the 2012 Annual Conference.
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