Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1500442
THE ARTISAN SUMMER 2023 • 63 In Memoriam Byrd Holland (1927-2023) Make-up Artist Byrd Holland, a renowned make-up artist, died on March 7 in Palm Springs at the age of 95. Byrd was born in Atlanta, Georgia. After serving in the Navy at the end of World War II, he moved to New York and studied acting under Sanford Meisner, appearing in the legendary teacher's off- Broadway plays. He toured the country in summer stock productions, becoming a senior member of Actor's Equity by age 25, making him one of the youngest senior members at that time. In 1953, he moved to Hollywood, where he married Patricia Ann Masters. Together, they raised two children, Tate and Tara. Byrd's acting credits included the original Fast and the Furious film from 1954, cult classic The Creeping Terror, The Black Klansman, and Madame X. He told Fangoria in 2003 that his first make-up job was on Terror in the Jungle, in which he'd originally been hired to play a reporter. "A make-up artist named Harry Thomas came to me and said, 'You're good at this acting thing, but there's a movie coming up and they need a make- up artist, and I can't do it. You know enough about make-up that you can get through this thing.' So I played the reporter at the beginning … and I also did make-up." Mr. Holland was perhaps best known for his out-of-the-box make-up FX on '70s horror films such as Rabid and Lemora. He was department head on motion pictures such as The Spectre of Edgar Allen Poe and Journey to the Center of Time. His television credits included Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge, Crisis in Midair, The Rock & Roll Years, American Bandstand, and Hard Copy. Over the course of his 40-year career, he worked with Ron Howard, John Travolta, Danny DeVito, Andy Kaufman, Christopher Lloyd, Cloris Leachman, Joseph Cotten, Neil Young, Tom Hanks, Burt Reynolds, Natalie Cole, Dick Clark, Paul McCartney, the Jackson 5, Hal Linden, Jonathan Winters, James Arness, Elliott Gould, Jimmy Carter, Bob Dole, and Pete Wilson. Byrd is remembered fondly as a vivid storyteller who saw the humor in everything. His wife Patricia died in April 2011. His brother William died January 2015. He is survived by his children Tate and Tara; his daughter-in-law Kayci; and his grandchildren Jake, Kaylie and Ryan. Mary Kraus (1930-2023) Associate Make-up Artist Mary Kraus started her career with Local 706 in April 1982. She was one of our esteemed body make-up members. At the time, our body make-up members were not on the Industry Experience Roster, but came in and stayed as associate make-up artists. They worked in all areas of production as their skills were needed. Mary was most proud of her work on The Young & the Restless, a network television production. Her work also included many shows at CBS, Santa Barbara on NBC, and Knotts Landing & Dallas for Lorimar. From the 1930s and 1940s to 1999, a separate roster category for body make-up artists was held by women who practiced this very specific craft. When it was first developed, there were no female make-up artists, only men. In order to maintain a sense of dignity and avoid embarrassment for female actors, (male) make-up artists were only allowed to apply make-up on women within specific boundaries. They were not allowed to paint the skin lower than the collarbones, and only below the elbow to the hands. The torso, shoulders, and legs were the domain of the body make-up artists. Primarily, they used pancake make-up on sea sponges and they were responsible for making sure the actresses' skin looked flawless. They did everything from hiding bruises to covering (rare back then) tattoos, birthmarks, blemishes. They could highlight and contour the body parts to look like velvet, or they could be called upon to assist the make-up artist to do wounds and injuries—whatever the script called for. Mary was predeceased by her husband Albert and her son David, and survived by her daughter Kathryn Mahon (Kraus). Services were held in late February exclusively for family. Craig Smith (1948-2023) Journeyman Make-up Artist Craig Smith passed away January 15 at the age of 75. He was a second-generation make- up artist in Local 706. His father Stan Smith worked on numerous movies and TV shows during his career, including Raintree County, The Birds, Support Your Local Sheriff, The Man from UNCLE, I Spy, and Trapper John, MD. Craig got his start at NBC working on various game shows before being hired by Universal Studios Department Head Make-up Nick Marcellino. For the next four years, Craig worked on The Rockford Files, Xanadu, Simon and Simon and the miniseries The Gangster Chronicles. With the closing of Universal's make-up department, Craig landed what he called "the luckiest job on the planet" as make-up artist for the syndicated TV show Entertainment Tonight for a 10-year run. In 1993, he began to freelance again with such feature credits as Independence Day and Impostor. He frequently worked on Star Trek: Deep Space 9, where he earned an Emmy nomination as part of the make-up team in 1999. Retiring in 2002, he spent his time being the dutiful grandfather, which delighted him to no end. Craig was an accomplished scuba diver and took many trips to various South Sea islands where he explored numerous sunken wrecks of WWII naval ships. The make-up room at Entertainment Tonight had a gallery of photos he took during these trips. Craig once said being a working make-up artist was "the best award a person could receive. Anything else is gravy." Craig is survived by his wife Ester, his daughters Heather and Jamie and several grandchildren.