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Milicent Patrick
Milicent Patrick (born Mildred Elizabeth Fulvia di Rossi; November 11, 1915 – February 24, 1998) was an American actress, makeup designer, special effects artist, and animator.
Born in El Paso, Texas, Patrick spent much of her early life in California, most notably in San Simeon, as her father, Camille Charles Rossi, was superintendent of construction at Hearst Castle. In 1939, Patrick began working for Walt Disney Productions and became one of the studio's first female animators. Patrick continued her career at Universal Studios and is cited as being the first woman to work in a special effects and makeup department. She is best known for being the creator of the head costume for the iconic Gill-man from the film Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954).
Mildred Elizabeth Fulvia di Rossi was born on November 11, 1915, in El Paso, Texas, the second of three children of Camille Charles Rossi and Elisa Albertine Bill. Her father was superintendent of construction at Hearst Castle, working under Julia Morgan, the first licensed female architect in the state of California. When Mildred was six, her family relocated from San Francisco to San Simeon, California. During her childhood, Mildred grew close with William Hearst's wife, Millicent Hearst, who would become the namesake for Mildred's latter name change. In 1932, Morgan and Camille Rossi's contentious working relationship caused Morgan to appeal to Hearst that Rossi be removed from the project, uprooting the Rossi family from the grounds at Hearst Castle.
The Rossi family then moved to Glendale, California, where she began attending Glendale Junior College. There, she was the assistant art editor for the school's yearbook department. In 1935, she produced six illustrations of various student activities including the campus layout, school dances, and sports games. She left that same year without graduating. She went on to study at Chouniard Art Institute for three years, where she focused on illustration and drawing, receiving three scholarships based on her talent.
Patrick began working at Walt Disney Productions in 1939 in their all-female ink and paint department. By 1940, she was moved to the Animation and Effects department, where she became one of the first female animators at Disney. Her work was featured in four sequences in the film Fantasia (1940), including animating the villain Chernabog in the final segment "Night on Bald Mountain". For the segment, Swiss artist Albert Hurter had been hired to create inspirational pencil sketches. Kay Nielsen, a Danish-born illustrator, then developed several color pastel drawings based on Hurter's drawings. The art design was known as the Pastel Effect, in which artists diluted the color paint to have the artwork resemble a chunk of chalky pastel. She next worked as an inbetweener on the film Dumbo (1941) and appeared uncredited in The Reluctant Dragon (1941). Around the same time, Patrick (referred to as "Mildred Rossi") was profiled in the magazine Glamour.
Meanwhile, several Disney animators walked out on strike demanding increased pay, better working conditions, and on-screen credit for their work. The strike ended on September 21, 1941, when Disney signed a unionized contract with the Screen Cartoonist's Guild. By then, on September 12, Patrick had left Disney after privately suffering from migraine headaches.
After leaving Disney, she began modeling in trade shows and as a promotional model. In 1947, while waiting outside the Ambassador Hotel near a bus stop, she met William Hawks, the brother of Howard Hawks, who became her talent agent. Her first film as an extra was Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven (1948).
In 1952, Patrick began working at Universal Studios' makeup department after showing Bud Westmore some of her sketches while filming The World in His Arms (1952). She became the first woman to work in a special effects makeup department and was credited with designing the pirate faces in Against All Flags (1952), the makeup of Jack Palance in Sign of the Pagan (1954), the alien in It Came From Outer Space (1953), Mr. Hyde in Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953), the Metaluna mutant in This Island Earth (1955), and was a mask maker for The Mole People (1956).
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Milicent Patrick
Milicent Patrick (born Mildred Elizabeth Fulvia di Rossi; November 11, 1915 – February 24, 1998) was an American actress, makeup designer, special effects artist, and animator.
Born in El Paso, Texas, Patrick spent much of her early life in California, most notably in San Simeon, as her father, Camille Charles Rossi, was superintendent of construction at Hearst Castle. In 1939, Patrick began working for Walt Disney Productions and became one of the studio's first female animators. Patrick continued her career at Universal Studios and is cited as being the first woman to work in a special effects and makeup department. She is best known for being the creator of the head costume for the iconic Gill-man from the film Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954).
Mildred Elizabeth Fulvia di Rossi was born on November 11, 1915, in El Paso, Texas, the second of three children of Camille Charles Rossi and Elisa Albertine Bill. Her father was superintendent of construction at Hearst Castle, working under Julia Morgan, the first licensed female architect in the state of California. When Mildred was six, her family relocated from San Francisco to San Simeon, California. During her childhood, Mildred grew close with William Hearst's wife, Millicent Hearst, who would become the namesake for Mildred's latter name change. In 1932, Morgan and Camille Rossi's contentious working relationship caused Morgan to appeal to Hearst that Rossi be removed from the project, uprooting the Rossi family from the grounds at Hearst Castle.
The Rossi family then moved to Glendale, California, where she began attending Glendale Junior College. There, she was the assistant art editor for the school's yearbook department. In 1935, she produced six illustrations of various student activities including the campus layout, school dances, and sports games. She left that same year without graduating. She went on to study at Chouniard Art Institute for three years, where she focused on illustration and drawing, receiving three scholarships based on her talent.
Patrick began working at Walt Disney Productions in 1939 in their all-female ink and paint department. By 1940, she was moved to the Animation and Effects department, where she became one of the first female animators at Disney. Her work was featured in four sequences in the film Fantasia (1940), including animating the villain Chernabog in the final segment "Night on Bald Mountain". For the segment, Swiss artist Albert Hurter had been hired to create inspirational pencil sketches. Kay Nielsen, a Danish-born illustrator, then developed several color pastel drawings based on Hurter's drawings. The art design was known as the Pastel Effect, in which artists diluted the color paint to have the artwork resemble a chunk of chalky pastel. She next worked as an inbetweener on the film Dumbo (1941) and appeared uncredited in The Reluctant Dragon (1941). Around the same time, Patrick (referred to as "Mildred Rossi") was profiled in the magazine Glamour.
Meanwhile, several Disney animators walked out on strike demanding increased pay, better working conditions, and on-screen credit for their work. The strike ended on September 21, 1941, when Disney signed a unionized contract with the Screen Cartoonist's Guild. By then, on September 12, Patrick had left Disney after privately suffering from migraine headaches.
After leaving Disney, she began modeling in trade shows and as a promotional model. In 1947, while waiting outside the Ambassador Hotel near a bus stop, she met William Hawks, the brother of Howard Hawks, who became her talent agent. Her first film as an extra was Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven (1948).
In 1952, Patrick began working at Universal Studios' makeup department after showing Bud Westmore some of her sketches while filming The World in His Arms (1952). She became the first woman to work in a special effects makeup department and was credited with designing the pirate faces in Against All Flags (1952), the makeup of Jack Palance in Sign of the Pagan (1954), the alien in It Came From Outer Space (1953), Mr. Hyde in Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953), the Metaluna mutant in This Island Earth (1955), and was a mask maker for The Mole People (1956).