Howard Smit

In his three-and-a-half-hour interview, Howard Smit (1911-2009) talks about his early life, growing up in the Great Depression and eventually taking a job with Max Factor. He recalls doing makeup for several feature films, including The Wizard of Oz and The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1939. He describes doing makeup for early experimental television broadcasts in Los Angeles in the 1930s, and joining the hair and makeup union leadership. He discusses his involvement with the first thirteen episodes of Dragnet, and what it was like working in live television in the 1950s. Smit details some of the challenges of doing makeup for television, including creating fake blood, prosthetics, and the aging of actors when the script calls for it. Smit outlines creating the Deb Star Ball, a yearly industry event to introduce new female talent, and also chronicles helping to improve working conditions for hair and makeup artists as president of the union. He recounts doing makeup for several classic anthology series, including Schlitz Playhouse of Stars and Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and working with Hitchcock on the classic features The Birds and Marnie. He concludes by discussing several luminaries he worked with in his career, including Aaron Spelling, Lucille Ball, Danny Thomas, and Milton Berle. Byrd Holland conducted the interview on November 21, 1997 in North Hollywood, CA.