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Hollywood, in it's infancy (roughly the 1910s) had NO HAIR AND MAKEUP ARTISTS at all. None. And the reason was simple - they didn't need them! In those days, the actors did their own. Yes, not only did they have to know their job in front of the camera, they also had to know how to apply their makeup and fix their own hair! This doesn't mean they all did a great job...just saying.
1877- 1938
IMDb: ....we're outright shocked to report that MAX FACTOR (SENIOR) has NO IMDB account. At all. The man who contributed EVERYTHING has no recognition on there...? C'mon...
Enter Max Factor. Or Maksymilian Faktorowicz, at birth. "Max" was born in Poland to a Jewish family. Because Max's widowed dad had to work long hours to support his 10 children (!), Max was raised primarily by his older siblings. At age 9, he apprenticed to a wigmaker and cosmetician - which would change the course of his entire life. He continued working in cosmetology for several years, eventually working for the Imperial Russian Grand Opera as a teenager and the royal court of Russia as a young man! He had a small store just outside of Moscow, and was permitted by the royals to keep running his store - once a week, under a guard's scrutiny. Gee, how kind of them. But they couldn't control what was about to happen...
Max fell for a lovely young lady who came into his shop, named Esther Rosa. He nicknamed her Lizzie. "Lizzie"...?? They arranged to see each other secretly at a friend's house next door to the shop, as the royal court forbade its' staff to be romantically involved without "permission". Eventually they found a rabbi who would marry them without a "paper trail". Their secret dates (now as husband and wife) continued, and produced 3 children.
Max was getting stressed and exhausted from his double life and endless working hours. He confided in his close friend (who was a general), and told him everything. The general listened, and told him he'd take care of it. Best. Friend. Ever! Soon after, the general made a plan to sneak Max and his family away to America, where some of Max's relatives had settled in St. Louis. Long story short, they headed on a trek through the forest...in the snow...in the dark. Finally, they reached the seaport! Max, thankfully, had plenty of money saved and paid the fare. No passports needed.
On board the ship, Max met a friend who spoke his native Polish as well as English. Max told him his idea of having a display at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, but he was worried because he didn't speak English. Well, the man offered to help with the language barrier - AND to finance the display! When they arrived at Ellis Island, Max's name was misspelled "Factor" by the inspector. From then on, he and his family were the "Factors".
Max, his family and new business partner boarded a train to St. Louis, and got involved in the fair when they arrived. Max's products sold very well, and during the 7 months he was there, his 4th son was born. He also got a glimpse of "photoplays" (short film clips), which intrigued him. On the final day, when the vendors were closing their booths, Max's partner didn't show up to help. All the money they'd made over 7 months? Gone. The "kind" man was a thief. Max was devastated.
With help from his American relatives, Max was able to open a barber shop. Things were looking up! Then Lizzie suddenly passed away from a brain hemorrhage. Once again, Max was devastated. In the following years, he married and divorced - and married again. All the while running his barber shop and raising his (now 5) children. His 3rd wife proved to be a keeper, and Max could start thinking about a new idea: could he possibly sell cosmetics and wigs to the performers in films, as he had to the opera stars in Russia? He had to find out. California, here they come!
The Factors moved to Los Angeles, and Max set up a cosmetics store. He approached the crew of The Squaw Man (the masterpiece of Jesse L. Lasky, Sam Goldwyn and Cecil De Mille), and offered to sell them his makeup and wigs for the actors playing Native Americans. They were interested, but unable to buy them outright, as their funding was limited. So Max made Cecil an offer: he could rent the wigs on a day-to-day basis - if he would let Max's older sons be "Indians" in the film. This way, Max's sons could keep an eye on the wigs, and make sure all of them were collected at the end of each day. Word has it, the Factor boys had a VERY hard time getting the extras to cooperate, as they frequently just flung them into the air when their workday was over!
Applying Louise Fazenda's makeup (1924)
One of Max' s more...daring....ideas. It didn't take. Wonder why...?
Well, the rest, as they say, is history! Max's products, expertise and kind personality took early Hollywood by storm! He had a knack for befriending the stars and treating them like family, often calling them by their real names. Max quickly found himself responsible for many famous actors' daily makeup before they went to set, and in the early years, they patiently waited outside his store every morning for his services. Allegedly, some of them got into fights over who was first!
Before you know it, Max had a store, a salon, a factory, a makeup line, a team of makeup artists, and a ton of new products and inventions to serve the ever-growing movie industry: Makeup for color film, makeup for television, special effects makeup, wigs, hair products...Max made it all and did it all - and remarkably well. So well, that he also became the personal cosmetologist to most of Hollywood. Leading men included! Max once said that the men were more vain than the women!
In 1938, Max passed away at his home in Beverly Hills. The cause has not been disclosed to the public. His son Frank changed his name to Max Factor, Jr. and continued running the company for many more decades, until it was bought by a corporation. Max Factor was without a doubt one of the biggest unsung heroes of Old Hollywood, and his legacy continues to this day - Max Factor's great-grandsons Davis and Dean Factor own and operate Smashbox Cosmetics! The apple doesn't fall far from the tree...
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