| Old Dog, New Tricks: Former Mouseketeer Turned Makeup Artist Tommy Cole |
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When I sat down with Tommy Cole and his lovely wife of 33 years, Aileen, his genuine affable nature and cheerful warmth and friendliness immediately struck me. Beyond the white beard he sports nowadays, there is still a boyish charm and good looks that he was known for in his child star days as a member of Walt Disney's "The Mickey Mouse Club". He talked with affection about his early acting career, and a remarkable 35 year makeup career––one of the longest in the industry and includes 7 Emmy Award nominations, and a win for his work on the TV Miniseries, "Backstairs At The White House".
"My 16 years as an actor and singer gave me a lot of insight and wisdom about working in the industry both in front of and behind the camera, as well as the opportunity to work with some of the greats in the business," says Tommy. Cole was one of those chosen by Walt Disney to be in the famous Mousketeer Club television show lineup along with other talented kids, including every 50-something guy's dream girl, Annette Funicello. At age 13 he sang and danced his way into the hearts of the American public for 4 years on the famous weekly TV series. "It was through the Mouseketeer experience that I became keenly aware of makeup use in television. Many times we were required to be made up for character portrayals such as a clown or an aging man. This caught my attention to the craft", he explains. After Disney, Tommy earned a living as a singer into his early twenties. And during one of his backup singer stints with Johnny Mathis he met his future wife, Aileen. But makeup artistry was on his mind.
Tommy's mother, June Cole, who also worked in television, happened to be employed as a guardian to the child actors on the set of the "My Three Sons” series. The show starred former Mouseketeer and friend Don Grady, whom Tommy would regularly visit and hang out with. " Employed there was an actor named Bob Ostermann, who worked was a stand-in for the boy actors. He too was interested in makeup, and we struck up a friendship with the show's makeup artist, Larry Butterworth, who also worked as John Wayne's personal makeup artist. Larry showed Bob and I how to do straight makeup and simple makeup effects. Then we would go and practice the bullet hits, cuts, bruises, and other things on each other. Later on in the series when Butterworth passed away, Bob Keats, took over as makeup head, taking us under his wing and showing us even more techniques. It was then that makeup became a serious career choice." Tommy realized that although he had some success as a singer, he didn't want to wind up a "has-been," singing to a piano in dimly lit bars. "I wanted to stay in the business, just not in front of the camera. I knew the pressures of being a child actor, and that was not what I really wanted for the rest of my working life. I learned from my 'watching makeup' days that being a makeup artist was an honorable profession, and you could make a good living at something you really liked to do. It didn't hurt that I would be around pretty women all the time too," jokes Tommy.
So Cole, and his friend Bob Ostermann, set out to develop their makeup artistry skills and began knocking on doors for employment. "I knew enough to get me by in the beginning", recalls Tommy. “I finally landed my first steady job in 1966 with ABC, under department head Rudy Horvatich, doing makeup for 'The Dating Game', and 'The Newlywed Game'. There was a lot of trial and error in my application in those early days but there were many gracious people along the way who helped me through the learning process. Back in the 60's and early 70's, the studio system was a great way for artists to learn their craft from inside the industry. Some studios would hold training classes for their best artists to mentor others for work on TV series and movies." After 2-1/2 years with ABC, including a stint on the Lawrence Welk Show (where he also did makeup on former fellow Mouseketeers Cubby O'Brien and Bobby Burgess) Cole went to work for NBC on the daytime soap opera, "Days Of Our Lives". It was during this time that he had a growing desire to hone his special effects skills and techniques and "Twentieth Century Fox had put out the word that they were looking for new energetic makeup artists. They were planning to train artists in special FX makeup for an upcoming movie called "Planet of the Apes", recalls Tommy. "I took the training but it was not until years later that I had the opportunity to work on the Planet of the Apes television series. Cole and Ostermann worked together on a weekly series called "Masquerade Party", for NBC. A young makeup artist named Stan Winston, was hired as a makeup designer for the show. "Bob and I worked for Stan as his laboratory techs, making all the molds for the show. Stan would sculpt and we would finish out the process. During this experience I found that I really liked doing FX work and began refining these skills as an area of expertise to further my career. 'Masquerade Party' led to my first Emmy Award nomination and a collaboration with Mike Westmore [now of Star Trek fame] on a two hour TV special, "Once Upon A Brothers Grimm". Mike designed and created all the prosthetics for the production, and I applied them and ran the show." As a result, the show was nominated for an Emmy. My second. I also had the opportunity to work again with Mike on the movie, 'Mask', starring Cher. Being a former actor helps Tommy tremendously in his work with actors and celebrities. "I can understand the pressures they experience, whether it is a grueling filming schedule or a complicated makeup application they must sit for. I can gauge just the right amount of activity needed to complete the makeup job in a professional and expedient manner while respecting the actors need for concentration on a particular scene." Cole has made a great living over the years as a feature film, TV series, and variety show makeup artist. His TV works include "Laugh-in", "The Dean Martin Show", "Evening Shade", Designing Women", "Wings", and movies such as "Mask", "Pretty In Pink", and "LA Confidential", and the list seems endless. He is careful to keep a professional, business-like perspective no matter what the job is. "You have to think of your work on a set as being akin to a 'traffic cop'. Once you get things set up and going, you have to keep the flow moving in the right direction."
Tommy considers himself a life long student of makeup artistry, and has sat under some great instructors and worked with them in the trenches. Whether a hair class taught by the famous Perc Westmore, or working a stint on the prosthetic clean-up crew for the movie, "The Coneheads", or attending a makeup training session on Star Trek…. "I try to have as many experiences as I can from all angles of the makeup profession in this industry. I believe you need to continually hone your craft by keeping abreast of new product developments and techniques, and view things from all perspectives. This industry changes almost on a daily basis and it is important to stay on the leading edge, improvise and think on your feet. Your last job may get you your next job. But always remember, you are only as good as your last job". There were many people along the way who Tommy credits for helping him succeed, but there are a couple of artists in particular that he remembers fondly. Explains Tommy, "Bob Schiffer gave me my first big break in features on a Disney picture called 'Pete's Dragon' by offering me the opportunity to run the makeup department on that film. I gained a lot of valuable experience. He became my mentor over the years and I credit him for much of my success,". Another makeup artist, Larry Darr helped Tommy refine his straight makeup skills. "Larry taught me the art of beauty and corrective makeup. He would do these really incredibly beautiful watercolor eyes and the women on the shows we worked on together would literally line up to be made up by him. He called this the 'pancake eye', because the method in those days was to take dry shadow, such as the La Femme brand or Max Factor pancakes and apply them with a wet brush. His particular technique produced a subtle and well-blended look, and it also had the benefit of being extremely longwearing. I mean, the foundation could wear down in a shoot by the day's end, but those eyes he did would still be perfect!"
Tommy still uses this same eye makeup technique in his film and television work today and graciously shares his exact method for our readers. All you need are the right tools such as good sable (rounds) and flat filbert brushes for application and blending. Then you will need 2 colors in dry cake products such as Max Factor's Pan-Cake, or Ben Nye's Color Cake Foundation or any pancake product that will apply smooth and blend well. Finally, a selection of shadows that can be applied by water (such as La Femme, Cinema Secrets, MAC, Revlon's Wet/Dry Shadows, Cargo or Philosophy.) "Preparation of the eyelid is very important in this method," says Tommy, "I first smooth a crème base all over the eye area and then powder. This helps minimize problem areas such as dry spots or oily areas, and makes it easier to apply and blend water based products on top so they will last longer. Then I begin applying my two pancake products, (I prefer Max Factor Natural #1, and Ben Nye's Olive Sable or Golden Ebony, or any dark brown color that has a reddish hue to it) by first blending the lighter color over the entire eye socket, then applying the darker color in the crease and outside corner, blending up and outward. I like to use a #10 filbert brush to apply the light color, then I go to a #6 or #8 round to lay down the darker color. I blend both the light and dark with a combination of filberts, such as a #8, #10 or #12.
"Next, I apply a dark eyeliner using a #2 round and a cake eyeliner color in black, brown, or dark brown. I leave the line either hard edged or soft by fuzzing it, depending upon the look I am trying to achieve. With these three colors (the two pancakes and one dark liner) I can shape and correct any eye, no matter what skin tone. If I need to intensify the darker colors then I'll add more brown or brown black to the mix to achieve the right depth. Once I have the eye shape I want, then I apply the colored eye shadow with a damp brush. The trick here is to make sure that your brush is not too wet when you take up the shadow, then softly blend the color onto the lid. You can also intensify the look by applying a dry shadow over that with a fluff brush, using any of the colors that are in fashion."
"This technique of doing eyes takes some practice to perfect in application, but once you have it down you will love the results you can achieve: from a very ultra natural and clean look to Vegas Showgirl eyes. The possibilities are endless. Also, speed is always a factor during makeup applications for film and TV, and this is an important tool for your makeup skill arsenal. This method produces a very smooth and blended "airbrush" look done by hand in a very short amount of time."
Tommy has just finished work on "Sorority Boys" for Touchstone Pictures due out March 2002. It stars Barry Watson (of Seventh Heaven), Harland Williams, and Michael Rosenbaum. He’s looking forward to future projects that are in the works, helping his daughter, Lindsey in her blossoming makeup career and his son, Casey with his graphic arts.
Over the years, Cole has also given back to the craft that has given him such a rewarding career by teaching and mentoring other artists into the industry. He offers this advice for artists wanting to break into the business: "It is important to learn from your mistakes. Don't be afraid to make them… learn from the experience. Be completely open to constructive criticism, and take good advice graciously. It is absolutely essential that artists today understand and practice honest work ethics and good set etiquette, from the makeup trailer to the set. Be humble and have a sense of humor when dealing with people, and above all, maintain high standards and always do your best work, whether on a day-player or a big star. The best way to have success in this business is to cultivate an image as a professional and the rest is a combination of talent, technique and personality".
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