EPISODE 126 - “THE WESTMORE DYNASTY: MAKE-UP TO THE STARS AND BEYOND” - 2/09/2026

Hollywood loves dynasties—acting families, directing families, producing families—but one of the most powerful dynasties in film history didn’t appear on screen at all. And it’s one of the rare family dynasties that began in silent films and continues working in film and TV to this very day: THE WESTMORE FAMILY.

The Westmores were the architects of illusion and the sculptors of stardom. From the pioneering vision of GEORGE WESTMORE who laid the foundations of cinematic makeup, to the extraordinary careers of his six sons, this family transformed faces into movie stars and shifted the culture of how women thought of and accepted the use of makeup in every day life. Their techniques, philosophies, and innovations continue to influence how we see characters on screen today—often without even realizing it. Join us as we spend time with The Westmore Dynasty: Hollywood’s ‘First Family’ of makeup.

SHOW NOTES:

Sources:

Makeup Man: From Rocky to Star Trek The Amazing Creations of Hollywood’s Michael Westmore (2017), by Michael Westmore and Jake Page;

The Westmores of Hollywood (1976), by Frank Westmore and Murial Davidson;

“Putting on a Face for Hollywood,” April 12, 1991, by Carie J. Delmar, Los Angeles Times;

“Low-Down on Hollywood Make-up: Five Brothers and Their Father, Ex-Clevelanders All, Have Film Stars Beating a Path to Their Door,” April 7, 1940, by Inez Wallace, Cleveland Plain Dealer;

www.westmoreland.com

Wikipedia.com;

TCM.com;

IBDB.com;

IMDBPro.com;

Movies Mentioned:

In the Sultan's Power (1909);

The Three Musketeers (1921);

The Sheik (1921);

The Sea Beast (1926);

The King of Kings (1927);

It (1927);

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931);

Cimarron (1931);

Scarface (1932);

Lady by Choice (1934);

Mutiny on the Bounty (1935);

Anthony Adverse (1936);

Rhythm on the Range (1936);

The Life of Emile Zola (1937);

Elephant Boy (1937);

Jezebel (1938);

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938);

Professor Beware (1938);

Gone with the Wind (1939);

Intermezzo (1939);

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939);

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939);

Rebecca (1940);

The Strawberry Blonde (1941);

Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948);

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954);

The Ten Commandments (1956);

The Mountain (1956);

My Geisha (1962);

Two for the Seesaw (1962);

Irma la Douce (1963);

Sweet Charity (1969);

Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970);

There Was a Crooked Man (1970);

Soylent Green (1973);

The Towering Inferno (1974);

Rocky (1976);

Being There (1979);

Raging Bull (1980);

Mask (1985);

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