Latest news with #GregCannom
New York Times
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Greg Cannom, Who Made Brad Pitt Old and Marlon Wayans White, Dies at 73
Greg Cannom, an Oscar-winning movie makeup artist responsible for some of the most striking acts of movie magic in recent decades — including the transformation of Christian Bale into Dick Cheney in 'Vice,' the creation of a giant expressive green head for Jim Carrey in 'The Mask,' and the reverse aging of Brad Pitt in 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' — died on May 3. He was 73. His death was announced by Rick Baker, a frequent collaborator and another of Hollywood's most admired movie makeup artists, as well as by the IATSE Local 706 Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild. Neither source provided further details. An online fund-raising drive for Mr. Cannom posted two years ago listed a series of health challenges, including severe shingles, a staph infection, sepsis and heart failure. Mr. Cannom won Oscars for best makeup for his work on 'Bram Stoker's Dracula' (1992), 'Mrs. Doubtfire' (1993), 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' (2008) and 'Vice' (2018). In 2005, he won a 'technical achievement' Oscar for the development of a modified silicone that could be used to apply fantastical changes to an actor's face while retaining the appearance of skin and flesh. Mr. Cannom's other work includes creating the look of the teenage vampires in 'The Lost Boys' (1987); giving Danny DeVito penguin hands in 'Batman Returns' (1992); aging the already octogenarian actress Gloria Stuart into a centenarian looking back on her youth in 'Titanic' (1997); and turning the male Black actors Marlon and Shawn Wayans into blonde white female residents of the Hamptons in 'White Chicks' (2004). During the heyday of Mr. Cannom's career, big-budget films supplied him with as many as 15 or 20 assistants in charge of making molds. Whole teams would be devoted to sculpting, painting and the careful handling of foam. Mr. Cannom, an expert in the human face, would give directions about, say, what expression should be conveyed by the nasolabial folds (the lines that run from the nose to the mouth), or what physiological meaning would be suggested by different lip shapes. Even while radically changing actors with prosthetics, Mr. Cannom preserved what they needed of themselves. Mr. Pitt aged half a century in 'Benjamin Button,' but he always looked essentially like himself. Wearing an enormous fake green head in 'The Mask' (1994), Mr. Carrey could still employ his customary outsize facial expressions. Mr. Cannom liked to freak out directors or even, ideally, himself. After careful study of Mr. Cheney's nose and the dimple on his chin for 'Vice,' Mr. Cannom designed looks for Mr. Bale to appear exactly like Mr. Cheney across five different decades of the former vice president's life. The day finally came when Mr. Bale arrived on set fully in costume. 'Everybody just died,' Mr. Cannom told The New York Times in 2018. 'I was shocked. He looked just like him.' Gregory Cannom was born on Sept. 5, 1951, in Los Angeles and grew up there. As a boy, he was a self-described 'monster geek' drawn to horror movies. While attending Cypress College in nearby Orange County, he got his training doing makeup for about 200 school plays. He became a professional in 1976 by calling Mr. Baker, who hired him as an assistant. Their collaborations included Michael Jackson's 1983 'Thriller' music video, in which Mr. Cannom appears on camera as one of the zombies. He later told Vox that he attained a new level of skill with old-age makeup on 'Titanic,' when he made Ms. Stuart, then 85 and long out of the limelight from her days as a 1930s starlet, look 101. 'She wasn't too happy about that,' Mr. Cannom recalled. 'She has this big comeback, and yet I wrinkled the hell out of her face.' His work on 'White Chicks' gave him credibility as someone who could sustain a complete, realistic transformation of actors throughout a film. 'The studio said, 'We don't think it can be done,'' he told The Los Angeles Times in 2004. 'Then it was my job to prove everyone wrong.' He did makeup on the Wayans 50 or 60 times, he estimated, using 'orange-ish' adhesive paint: A light-pink color on dark skin came out gray, he found. The success of that movie prepared the way for his more dramatic work on 'Benjamin Button.' The director, David Fincher, demanded that thin coats of old-age makeup applied to Mr. Pitt be done the exact same way across scenes — accuracy to a sixteenth of an inch. In an interview with Screen Daily, Mr. Cannom said the work he did on that movie was not only arduous but also 'terrifying' — and the best of his career. In the 2010s, Mr. Cannom's phone stopped ringing; he figured he was widely thought to be dead, he told The Los Angeles Times in 2019. Then he got the chance to be the makeup character designer for 'Vice,' which earned him his final Oscar. Mr. Bale had famously dropped about 60 pounds to play an undernourished insomniac in 'The Machinist' (2004) and then quickly acquired the physique of a bodybuilder to play the starring role in 'Batman Begins' (2005). Yet Vanity Fair commented in 2018 that his emergence as Dick Cheney 'may be the actor's most haunting transformation yet.' Information about Mr. Cannom's survivors was not immediately available. He lived in Palm Springs. In recent years, he joined other special-effects artists in decrying a decline in what studios, influenced partly by growing reliance on digital technology, would spend on makeup. At the 2016 conference of Monsterpalooza, an annual event held in honor of creature and makeup work, Mr. Cannom won a lifetime achievement award. It was presented by Gary Oldman, who had worked with Mr. Cannom on multiple films, including 'Bram Stoker's Dracula.' Of the many hundreds of hours he had spent in a makeup chair, none were 'more satisfying and more rewarding than when I was in Greg's chair,' Mr. Oldman said. 'I used to doze off and have a sleep during the application because I was so relaxed and reassured, knowing that I was in the hands of an artist, a master craftsman.'
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Greg Cannom Dies: Oscar-Winning ‘Mrs. Doubtfire' & ‘Vice' Prosthetic Makeup Artist Was 73
Greg Cannom, the four-time Oscar-winning makeup and prosthetics artist behind such seminal films as Dracula, Mrs. Doubtfire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Vice, has died at the age of 73. Rick Baker, a longtime colleague and frequent collaborator, announced the news yesterday on Instagram, writing, 'I just heard the sad news of the passing of one of the great make up artists. Greg Cannom. Greg started with me in the 70's; his first job with me was the sequel to It's Alive where he not only assisted me in making the baby but also played one of the baby monsters. When I moved out of my first garage workshop Greg moved in. When I out grew my first industrial unit Greg took that over. His work will be remembered long after his passing. Sad news indeed. RIP Greg, you and your work will be missed.' More from Deadline Vice Studios Inks Distribution Deal With ITV Studios; 'Ludwig' Sales & Zhejiang Pact Also Unveiled At London TV Screenings Radu Jude Teases Upcoming Dracula Film And Says The Romanian Film Centre Is Run By "An Idiot" - Locarno Sally Field Recalls The Kindness Of Robin Williams After A Family Death Per a GoFundMe launched in March 2023 on behalf of the accomplished and celebrated artisan, Cannom's health began declining following a bout of Shingles a while back, which led to permanent nerve damage to his legs; he also suffered a Staph infection that resulted in an amputation below the knee. He was hospitalized in December 2022 for several months, for complications related to diabetes, viral infections and heart failure. A trailblazer in the field, Cannom has logged 45 years in the business, crafting the iconic looks behind some of the most beloved films. In addition to his four Academy Awards, he also received nods for his work on Hook, Hoffa, Roommates, Titanic, Bicentennial Man and A Beautiful Mind. His craft is also behind films The Lost Boys, Batman Returns, Blade, The Mask, Hannibal, Van Helsing, White Chicks, The Passion of the Christ, The Eyes of Tammy Faye and many others. On the television side, he rendered makeup for Fox's late '80s series Werewolf, CBS' '90s-era The Flash and NBC's original finale of Will & Grace, for which he received one of his five Emmy nominations. His work also extended into the musical arena, where he crafted looks for Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' video, alongside Baker, and Ozzy Osbourne's 'Bark at the Moon.' In 2005, he shared an Academy Award for Technical Achievement with sculpture artist Wesley Wofford for 'the development of their special modified silicone material for makeup applications used in motion pictures.' In 2019, he received the Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Lifetime Achievement Award. Cannom began his foray into the industry after attending Cypress College and working seasonally at Knott's Halloween Haunt theme park, marking his interest in the horror genre, which eventually led to his connection and assistant job with the seven-time Oscar-winning Baker. Best of Deadline 2025 Deaths Photo Gallery: Hollywood & Media Obituaries 2024 Hollywood & Media Deaths: Photo Gallery & Obituaries Remembering Shelley Duvall: A Career In Photos
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Greg Cannom, Oscar-Winning Makeup and Prosthetics Artist on ‘Mrs. Doubtfire' and ‘Vice', Dies at 73
Greg Cannom, a makeup and prosthetics artist whose Oscar-winning work can be seen in 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' 'Bram Stoker's Dracula,' 'Vice' and 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,' has died. He was 73. Frequent collaborator, Rick Baker, confirmed Cannom's death in an Instagram post on Friday. Together, the pair worked on films like 'Cocoon,' 'The Howling, ' 'The Fury' and the music video for Michael Jackson's 1983 hit 'Thriller.' More from Variety Sally Field Reveals Robin Williams Changed 'Mrs. Doubtfire' Filming Order So She Could Leave Set After Her Father Died: 'He Was Very Sensitive and Intuitive' 'Mrs. Doubtfire' Teen Star Says Robin Williams Spoke 'Super Honestly About Mental Health' and Made Her Feel Like 'I'm Not a Freak. I Don't Have to Hide This About Myself' 'Mrs. Doubtfire' Actor Got 'Thrown Out of High School' Due to Starring in the Film, So Robin Williams Wrote a Letter Urging the Principal to 'Rethink This Decision' 'I just heard the sad news of the passing of one of the great makeup artists. Greg Cannom,' he wrote. 'Greg started with me in the 70s, his first job with me was the sequel to 'It's Alive' where he not only assisted me in making the baby but also played one of the baby monsters. When I moved out of my first garage workshop, Greg moved in. When I outgrew my first industrial unit, Greg took that over. His work will be remembered long after his passing. Sad news indeed. RIP Greg, you and your work will be missed.' Cannom was nominated six times at the Academy Awards for best makeup, outside of his four wins. He received Oscar noms for 'Hook' in 1992, 'Hoffa' in 1993, 'Roommates' in 1996, 'Titanic' in 1998, 'Bicentennial Man' in 2000 and 'A Beautiful Mind' in 2002. He also shares an Academy Award for technical achievement with Wesley Wofford, which was awarded to the pair for 'the development of their special modified silicone material for makeup applications used in motion pictures.' Cannom earned five Emmy nominations in his career, the first of which was for 'Earth 2' in 1995. Other notable credits for Cannom include flims like 'Big Top Pee-wee,' 'Dick Tracy,' 'Alien 3,' 'Batman Returns,' 'The Mask,' 'Blade,' 'The Insider,' 'Ali' and 'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Greg Cannom, Master Creator of Oscar-Winning Makeup and Prosthetics, Dies at 73
Greg Cannom, Oscar-winning prosthetics and makeup specialist whose skills were called upon for some of the greatest challenges in film including 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' 'Bram Stoker's Dracula' and 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,' has died. He was 73. Cannom's death was announced Friday by fellow makeup artist Rick Baker in an Instagram post. More to come … The post Greg Cannom, Master Creator of Oscar-Winning Makeup and Prosthetics, Dies at 73 appeared first on TheWrap.
