George Henry Westmore 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 established the first movie make-up department in 1917. In his youth, he spent eighteen months in the British Army cavalry during the Second Boer War.
Biography
Westmore was born on the Isle of Wight, off the southern coast of England. On 6 November 1899, he signed up for British Army service, requesting to be placed in the cavalry. He served with the 16th The Queen's Lancers in the Second Boer War. He was discharged from service on 22 April 1901, at the rank of Private, having been found medically unfit for further service. His character description at the time described him as "Very good, trustworthy and obliging man" and "a first rate hairdresser, has been in charge of the regimental shop". He had served in the army for one year and 168 days. Afterwards he became a hairdresser by trade, and while in England he was reported to have cut Winston Churchill's hair. He also became a hairdresser to the Court of St. James's. He emigrated to Canada, but afterwards moved to the United States. He first lived in Los Angeles, and subsequently worked in beauty parlours in St. Louis, Cleveland, San Antonio and New Orleans. He returned to Los Angeles to retire where he noted that actors did their own makeup−and weren't very good at it−so in 1917 he set up the first movie make-up department at the Selig Polyscope Company, while at the same time, he made wigs, and invented the hair-lace wig. He also worked for the Triangle Film Corporation and freelance. He was responsible for creating Mary Pickford's signature curls, and fake ones so that she didn't need to curl them each morning, which became a popular style and was imitated by Shirley Temple among others. Westmore had always had a distant and somewhat competitive relationship with his children. As the era of motion picture sound dawned, he saw the careers and reputations of his sons grow and eclipse his own. He became depressed and despondent, feeling that his own accomplishments were forgotten. In 1931, he killed himself via mercury poisoning, and took four agonizing days to die as the mercury burned its way through his body.
