Ernest Henry Westmore (October 29, 1904 – February 1, 1967),Frank Westmore and Muriel Davidson. ''The Westmores of Hollywood''. J. B. Lippincott, New York City, 1976. was a

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

make-up artist and sometimes actor, the third child in

George Westmore George Henry Westmore (27 June 1879 – 12 July 1931) was an English hairdresser who emigrated to the United States with his family, including several relatives who became prominent in Hollywood. Specializing in wig-making, and later make-up, he ...

's famed Westmore family

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

Perc Westmore Percival Harry Westmore (29 October 1904 – 30 September 1970) was a prominent member of the Westmore family of Hollywood make-up artists. He rose to the position of head of the Warner Bros. make-up department, and with his brothers founded t ...

's twin, the two were born in 1904 in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of t ...

, England, later moving to Canada and then the United States.

Career

Considered the most talented of the Westmore brothers, Ern found work at Warner Bros. studio,

RKO Studios RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheu ...

, and Eagle-Lion Studios. He was the director of make-up on over 50 films during his career, and was also featured as himself in a number of

B-movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feat ...

-style features for

Kroger Babb Howard W. "Kroger" Babb (December 30, 1906 – January 28, 1980) was an American film producer and showman. His marketing techniques were similar to a travelling salesman's, with roots in the medicine show tradition. Self-described as "America's ...

, including '' One Too Many'', and ''

Secrets of Beauty ''Secrets of Beauty'' (also titled ''Why Men Leave Home'') is a 1951 American drama film directed by Erle C. Kenton and starring Ern Westmore, Julie Bishop, Richard Denning. The film was released on DVD in 2006. Cast *Julie Bishop as Ruth Waldr ...

'', also known as ''Why Men Leave Home'', an instructional

primer Primer may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Primer'' (film), a 2004 feature film written and directed by Shane Carruth * ''Primer'' (video), a documentary about the funk band Living Colour Literature * Primer (textbook), a te ...

for women regarding how to keep their husbands faithful. Ern was also involved in the creation of the House of Westmore with three of his brothers. It was billed as a place of beauty, primarily for women, and Ern was forced to borrow $40,000 from

John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly att ...

and

Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, freque ...

to assist in the financing, never paying them back. In 1955, Babb set Westmore up with his own television series. Originally called '' Hollywood Today'', but also called ''Hollywood Backstage'' and ''The Ern Westmore Show'', ''

The Ern Westmore Hollywood Glamour Show ''The Ern Westmore Hollywood Glamour Show'' (also known as ''The Ern Westmore Show'') is an American television program that was syndicated in 1953 and carried on ABC from August 7, 1955, until September 11, 1955. The show was hosted by Hollywood ...

'' was a program featuring make-up tips and beauty suggestions. Ern struggled with alcoholism throughout his life, drinking as early as 1921. Often involved with Barrymore, John Decker, and

W. C. Fields William Claude Dukenfield (January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946), better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler, and writer. Fields's comic persona was a misanthropic and hard-drinking egotist who remained a sympathet ...

, Ern would eventually be forced out of Warner Bros. because of his alcohol problem. It eventually led to work with ''One Too Many''. Ern also struggled in his personal life due to his vices, having been married four times during his life, fathering two children. Ern died in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1967 of an apparent

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

. Grandson Robert B. Crawley, Jr., son of Muriel Westmore Crawley and Bob Crawley, Sr., was art director at Universal Studios.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Westmore American television personalities American male film actors British make-up artists 1904 births 1969 deaths English emigrants to the United States English emigrants to Canada English twins 20th-century American male actors Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Ern

Career

See also

References

External links