Percival Harry Westmore (1904–1970) was a prominent member of the Westmore family of Hollywood make-up artists. He rose to the position of Head of the Warner Brothers make-up department, and with his brothers founded the studio "The House of Westmore" on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. He worked with well known Hollywood actresses of the period, including Lauren Bacall, Bette Davis and Kay Francis. He was married on four occasions, and collected cuttings relating to the Westmore family throughout his life which were subsequently donated to Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences after his death.

Biography

The House of Westmore beauty salon was opened on April 16, 1935, on Sunset Boulevard. Perc was instrumental in finishing the project, as the brothers had run out of money before finishing it. Whilst working on Stranded, he told actress Kay Francis of their plight. She responded by giving him a blank cheque to complete the project, which he cashed for $25,000. Francis, along with other stars of the day including Marlene Dietrich, Clara Bow and Carole Lombard, subsequently helped launch the studio.

Whilst he was head of the Warner Brothers make-up department, he piloted several changes including introducing a description of shades of hair color in order to use different types of make-up more appropriately. Whereas prior to Perc, studios described actresses simply as blonde or brunette, Perc introduced a chart of thirty five shades of blonde alone. During the production of one film, Perc created a detailed latex hand for a close-up shot. According to Perc's brother Frank, the hand was so detailed that he was visited by doctors to study it and the process was adapted for use by the medical industry.

Perc was involved in the House of Westmore beauty product range, and one promotion run by the company gave away copies of "Perc Westmore's Make-up Guide". One such advertisement described Perc's achievements as "responsible for the coilfure and make-up of such great stars as Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan, Merle Oberon, Olivia de Havilland, Brenda Marshall... and at one time or another has worked with practically every great star of Hollywood."

He made an onscreen cameo in the 1937 film Hollywood Hotel. Perc was the make-up artist for Bette Davis during the filming of The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex in 1939, where she became the first Hollywood actress to appear bald on screen (although it was actually only a couple of inches of her hairline which was shaved, to appear bald under wigs). This wasn't due to Westmore's ideas, but because Davis wanted to appear historically accurate as Queen Elizabeth. He very nearly changed Lauren Bacall's styling to something similar to Marlene Dietrich when Bacall attended for her screen test prior to her first film for Warner Bros. Bacall panicked at the suggestion and called producer Howard Hawks who insisted to Perc that he should leave her the way she was.

In 1951, he worked with the United States Navy to develop a hair style for female personnel which would stand up to sea breezes and prevent the hair from falling against the collar, which at the time was against regulations. Perc died of a heart attack on September 30, 1970, at his home in North Hollywood. He was posthumously nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Make-up at the 23rd Primetime Emmy Awards in 1971 for his work on The Cosby Show. The award went to Robert Dawn for Mission: Impossible.

Best films