Michael Westmore

In his two-hour interview, Michael Westmore discusses his family's background as makeup artists (grandfather George applied makeup for Mary Pickford and father Monte was the makeup artist for Gone With the Wind), and shares that he did not initially want to go into the family business. He eventually accepted an internship at Universal Studios with his uncle, Bud Westmore, and assisted with makeup on The Munsters. He describes his experiences with movie makeup on Rocky and Raging Bull, and recounts his Academy Award winning makeup for Mask, starring Eric Stoltz. Westmore then details his intricate makeups for the many Star Trek television series and movies on which he's worked: Star Trek: The Next Generation; Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; Star Trek: Voyager; and Star Trek: Enterprise. He explains how he creates looks for new aliens on a weekly basis, talks about the most difficult makeup application he's ever executed, and outlines advances in prosthetics and techniques. Melody Chen conducted the interview in Los Angeles, CA on March 13, 2004 as part of the Archive's Living Television initiative.