“Hollywood’s First Makeover Artist” runs thru Dec. 1…
(HOLLYWOOD) – The premiere exhibition of hundreds of artifacts from
the priceless Max Factor Collection – items unseen since the closure
of its namesake museum more than a decade ago – documenting Factor’s
revolutionary impact on Hollywood, its stars and the make-up industry will
open at Hollywood Entertainment Museum (7021 Hollywood Blvd.) Thursday, September
4.
(Editors note: “Max Factor: Hollywood’s First Makeover Artist”
replaces the Hedy Lamarr exhibit previously announced for this date.)
“Max Factor: Hollywood’s First Makeover Artist,” which will
run through December 1, represents a small portion of the vast collection
donated to Hollywood Entertainment Museum in 1992 by its owners, Proctor &
Gamble, after the Max Factor Museum was shuttered. It is the first special
exhibition of the artifacts since the Museum acquired them.
Hollywood Entertainment Museum, which is exclusively responsible for the preservation
and restoration of the overall collection under curator Jan-Christopher Horak,
is involved in an ongoing process to catalog all and ultimately exhibit the
several thousand items in the trove.
“‘Hollywood’s First Makeover Artist’ represents the
genius of Max Factor and how he became the world’s most renowned make-up
craftsman, exploiting cinema’s most fabulous faces in the process in
order to market his cosmetics to the public,” says Horak.
The exhibit colorfully demonstrates how Factor and his son Max Factor Jr.
literally changed the face of Hollywood, exhibiting about 120 objects and
images illustrating their magical methods during a 50-year period. They include
his bizarre head-measuring device; “heads,” wigs and hairpieces
for Elizabeth Taylor, Linda Darnell, Barbra Streisand, Debbie Reynolds and
Charlton Heston; appliances for the Frankenstein monster’s head; historic
photographs showing the master making over some of the world’s biggest
celebrities; and displays of cosmetics and salon furniture.
“Max Factor gave Hollywood a whole new look beginning in the silent
film era when he invented make-up in 1914,” says Horak. “He even
invented the term ‘make-up,’ introduced a line of his famous products
to women in the general public by 1920, and won a 1929 Oscar for his break-through
work.”
In 1935, Factor built a studio at Hollywood and Highland boulevards with make-up
salons, laboratories, a wig making department and a part of his manufacturing
plant, and which eventually became the Max Factor Museum.
Hollywood Entertainment Museum celebrates the entertainment arts and Hollywood
the place, preserving and exhibiting treasures from both. It also operates
the model Education Center for the Entertainment Arts, providing a high school
degree program and job training opportunities for at-risk youth.
Open daily 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. through Labor Day, and everyday except Wednesdays,
11 a.m. – 6 p.m. between Labor Day and Memorial Day. Closed Thanksgiving,
Christmas and New Year’s Day. Admission is $8.75 for adults; $5.50 for
seniors; $4.50 for students; $4 for ages 5-12; and free to Museum members
and children under five. Located one block west of Grauman’s Chinese
Theater in the Hollywood Galaxy complex, parking is off Sycamore Ave. For
more information call (323) 465-7900 or visit www.hollywoodmuseum.com.
