MGM MAKE-UP DEPARTMENT | WILLIAM TUTTLE, JACK YOUNG MAKE LIFE MASK (ca. 1943) Publicity photo

[Los Angeles]: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, [ca. 1943]. Vintage original 8 x 10″ (20 x 25 cm.) black-and-white glossy silver gelatin photo. About fine.

Typed printing on verso relates information about the operation of the MGM make-up department under the direction of William Tuttle, who was with the studio for over thirty years. Tuttle would head the make-up department by the mid-1940s, having started working there since the late-1930s. The process of making life masks — where an actor’s face was covered in plaster to make a mold — was utilized for the purpose of creating make-ups, prosthetics and hair pieces which would fit the actor.

This image was taken most likely in late-1943, at which time MGM was preparing to celebrate their 20th anniversary as a film studio. Many promotions came out at the time showing the inner workings of the studio.