With very few and special exceptions, there is no more influential an individual in the modern world of special makeup effects than John Chambers. From his work in television’s crucial first decades through groundbreaking cinematic triumphs as pivotal as “Planet of the Apes,” Chambers 30-year career in Hollywood solidified his legacy as undeniable technical master and pioneer of both tutorial and ethical standards that have yet to be surpassed. Though he has been retired for more than a decade, Chambers left a legacy of excellence that continues to ripple through the work of his many peers and proteges.

In Los Angeles, starting in 1953, John Chambers brought his knowledge of medical prosthetics,
first implemented for WWII veterans, to countless TV programs before moving onto feature films. Chambers did a variety of jobs, including the design of Spock’s ears for “Star Trek” before undertaking a job that would garner him an honorary Oscar for makeup.

“Planet of the Apes,” the first widely recognized film to successfully display prosthetically-produced characters on a large scale. Chambers’ makeup design concept was for “Apes” was unprecedented and forever changed movie history. For the principal actors, chimps and orangutans were “T”-shaped, three-piece, appliance makeups which included a brow piece, upper lip, and lower lip; gorillas were a two-piece makeup. The principals’ appliances were removed at the end of a day’s shooting with an alcohol acetone solution that cut the glue and washed out the rubber without damaging it.

Chambers’ experimentation led to a foam rubber that allowed the actors’ skin to breathe comfortably. Forced to pioneer many production techniques to meet the demands of such a large-scale makeup show, Chambers claims, “we innovated everything.” The most influential of his landmark practices was the advent of pre-painting the ape appliances.

The proportions of the film, by any standard, were enormous: there were often as many as sixty make-up artists and more than forty hairdressers working every day; most of these craftspeople
handed out masks, made sure that they fit, then colored around the actors’ eyes so that their flesh was not exposed. On select shooting days, there were 160 extras with background masks on.

In 1976, Chambers undertook a film version of “Island of Dr. Moreau,” starring Michael York. For the project, he created a variety of animalhuman hybrids, including a BoarMan, BullMan, LionMan, BearMan, and the Sayer of the Law. A film adaptation of H.G. Wells classic story (which was remade again in 1996 with makeups by Stan Winston Studio), “Moreau’s’ Humanimals featured
Chambers’ detailed approach for the planned makeups which significantly differed from the relatively simple hair appliances of the man-beast mutants in the 1933 version of the story, Island of Lost Souls. In contrast, “Moreau” was similar to Chambers’ Apes projects in the intense amount and scope of the many required makeups — each of which took about four hours — filmed over seven weeks of shooting in the Caribbean.

Like Dick Smith, Chambers retired in the 1980s but has served as a mentor to young artists who left their stamps in makeup effects. Under Chambers’ tutelage in the mid-1960s were Ken Chase, who would go on to create seamless age makeups in “Back to the Future,” Tom Burman, who created myriad makeup effects in “Cat People,” and Michael Westmore, the head of makeup for “Star Trek’s” film-TV universe since 1987. Chambers passed away on August 25, 2001.

About the Author
Scott Essman has been writing about makeup and movie craftsmanship since 1995. As part of his company, Visionary Cinema, Essman has also created memorable tributes to makeup history, including special events to honor Dick Smith, John Chambers, and Jack Pierce. In 1998, his tribute to the makeup for “The Wizard of Oz” was celebrated on Hollywood Boulevard at the historic Mann’s Chinese Theater. In 2000, Essman published his first book, “Freelance Writing for Hollywood,” and that same year, he published a 48-page special magazine about the work of Universal Studios’ makeup legend, Jack Pierce. In 2001, he was joined with Universal to nominate Pierce for a star on Hollywood Boulevard’s Walk of Fame.

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