In August of 1939
Mehron Makeup was in the midst of its twelfth year of operations. On August 17,1939 at the Lowes Capitol Theater located at 1645 Broadway in New York City,
The Wizard of Oz opened only blocks away from Mehron Melik's
Theatrical Makeup Company. The Lowes Capitol Theater was a showcase for MGM Film releases in New York City. Attendees of the Lowes Capitol Theater were treated to a stage show along with an MGM release. Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney appeared in the stage show that was presented during the run of The Wizard of Oz at this landmark theater that opened in 1919, one of the few Theater Palaces that predates the foundation of Mehron Makeup.
In 2009, as
The Wizard of Oz celebrates the 70th Anniversary of its release Mehron is entering their 83rd year in the production of
high quality Theatrical Makeup. In 1939 the Wizard of Oz was a ground breaking event in the world of film, from the Special Effects to the Makeup,
The Wizard of Oz established loftier goals for the Movie Industry. In 2009, seventy years after its New York City release,
The Wizard of Oz remains a timeless movie classic. Filmed with an unheard of budget at the time
The Wizard of Oz was a Technicolor challenge for the Makeup Artist, Jack Dawn, who would later head the MGM Makeup Department. The
Theatrical Makeup Industry was meeting the new challenges presented by Hollywood in the 1920's through the 1930's, men like Jack Dawn and Mehron Melik found their roles interchangeable during this infancy stage of film makeup. Makeup Artist also became Makeup Manufacturers and Makeup Manufacturers were also Makeup Artists. During this time of Makeup experimentation the men who were contemporaries often shared ideas and helped each other solve problems.
Mr. Dawn encountered his share of problems during the extravagant production of the Wizard of Oz including the almost fatal poisoning of the original Tin Man, Buddy Ebsen by the aluminium powder that was used as his makeup for his role as the Tin Man. Mr. Ebsen was mysteriously replaced in the role of the Tin Man by Jack Haley, who like most of the other cast members at the time did not know why Budduy Ebsen was replaced. In consultations with his contemporaries Mr. Dawn came upon the solution to create the aluminium look for the tin man by mixing the aluminium powder with a paste so that Mr. Hailey would not breathe in the dust and become ill in the same way as Mr. Ebsen. It was also suggested that Jack Hailey have a layer of Clown Makeup applied as a foundation to protect his skin before the application of the aluminum paste that Mr. Dawn had created after consulting with other Makeup Men throughout the country. Unlike 2009 when Shrek the Musical needs a particular green for their favorite Orge, all they did was call Mehron and have it made, the Makeup Inventors of 1939 found and made their own makeup solutions.
An American axiom that rings true for the Film Industry is that necessity is the mother of invention. Seventy years after the creation of the American Film Classic, The Wizard of Oz, James Cameron needed to invent technology in order to put his vision on film. Avatar, scheduled for release in December 2009 will be the first fully three dimensional film ever released. Tired of waiting for three dimensional film technology to catch up with his vision, Mr. Cameron invented his own three dimensional camera equipment to finally film the idea that has been in his mind for fifteen years. Avatar is already being proclaimed as the new milestone in film making, just as seventy years ago, The Wizard of Oz raised the bar of achievement in the industry, in 2009 Avatar is expected to do the same.
In 1927 Mehron Melik handcrafted a
Theatrical Makeup that set the bar of achievement for Theatrical Makeup, for over eight decades Mehron has been raising that bar with new innovations in color, ingredients, pigmentation and durability in the quest for the safest, most colorfast, vibrant, easy to apply and easy to remove
Theatrical Makeup. Mehron Makeup was 12 years old when Jack Dawn worked on
The Wizard of Oz, and was already producing a quality line of speciality makeup for theatrical productions, Circuses, Opera, Dance, Vaudeville, Burlesque and film. James Cameron's Film Avatar not only sets a new bar for future filming, it also sets a new bar for a Makeup that can provide the coverage that a three dimensional presentation will require. Mehron has already begun to meet the new challenges that future film techniques will demand of Theatrical Makeup with their 2009 introduction of the naturally based, full coverage
Air Brush Makeup,
LUX Airbrush Makeup, currently available in over a dozen dynamic colors. Unlike 1939, if the film industry needs a new color, new product or a solution, Mehron Makeup is only a phone call away ready to produce the product that is needed just as they have from the release of
The Wizard of Oz through the coming release of
Avatar.
Teachers, do you want to know an easy way to get the less than enthusiastic students to participate in your plays with spirit? It's all in the Makeup. Yep, the Makeup will do it. How? You ask. All you have to do is buy some Mehron Makeup appropriate for your Holiday play characters and tell the students that they will be using the same Makeup that is used by Shrek on Broadway. If your students are of the wrong age to appreciate Shrek, then tell them that they will be using the same makeup used by Vampires in Movies. If still the wrong age group you will be able to tell them that the School Play Makeup is the same makeup used in Music Videos. Maybe your students gravitate to certain interests, let's say horror films, then you can tell them that the School Play Makeup that you bought for them is the same Professional Makeup used by Special Effects Artists who create the blood and gore in horror films. If you are a Pre-School or Kindergarten Teacher you can tell them that this is the exact same Clown makeup used by Circus Clowns for over eighty years!!
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