William J. Tuttle American make-up artist Date of Birth: 13.04.1912 Country: USA

Biography of William J. Tuttle

William J. Tuttle, an American makeup artist, was born on April 13, 1912, in Jacksonville, Florida, USA. He had to leave school at a young age to support his mother and younger brother. Making a living with odd jobs, Tuttle eventually moved to Hollywood, California. In his new home, William worked under the renowned American makeup artist Jack Dawn at Twentieth Century Pictures. In 1934, Tuttle joined MGM as an assistant to Dawn, where he supervised the makeup process for films such as the Academy Award-winning musical "The Wizard of Oz" (1939) starring the enchanting Judy Garland, and Vincente Minnelli's comedy "Father of the Bride" (1950). Tuttle was responsible for the makeup of some of Hollywood's biggest stars, including Judy Garland in Charles Walters' musical film "Summer Stock" (1950), Gene Kelly in the comedy musical "Singin' in the Rain" (1952), Katharine Hepburn in George Cukor's comedy-drama "Pat and Mike" (1952), and Esther Williams in the musical "Million Dollar Mermaid" (1952) about the life of Australian actress, swimmer, and diver Annette Kellerman. Thanks to his successful work, William was appointed as the head of the makeup department at MGM. In the 1950s, the American makeup master worked with the cast of Fred M. Wilcox's science fiction thriller "Forbidden Planet" and George Pal's adventure science fiction film "The Time Machine," which won an Academy Award. He recreated the looks from "The Time Machine" for an episode of the popular television series "The Twilight Zone" titled "The Eye of the Beholder." Furthermore, Tuttle was extensively involved in the skilled transformation of actors' appearances for this Canadian-American horror series. Tuttle received a special Academy Award in 1964 for his work on George Pal's fantasy film "7 Faces of Dr. Lao." It took another 17 years for the Academy Awards to officially establish the prize for Best Makeup. Some of Tuttle's last projects included the science fiction films "Logan's Run" and "Young Frankenstein." William J. Tuttle passed away at the age of 95 in his home in California, leaving behind his wife Anita and daughter Teresa. He was married five times throughout his life. Tuttle divorced Donna Reed, Gloria Gilbert, and Elizabeth L. Maski. His spouse Marie Kopicky, who bore him two children, passed away on June 4, 1961. Finally, on March 25, 1967, William married Anita Aros and remained her legal spouse until his death.