Milicent Patrick
Patrick with the head of the Gill-man from Creature from the Black Lagoon.
Born
Mildred Elizabeth Fulvia di Rossi

(1915-11-11)November 11, 1915
El Paso, Texas, United States
DiedFebruary 24, 1998(1998-02-24) (aged 82)
Roseville, California, United States
Occupations
  • Actress
  • makeup designer
  • special effects artist
  • animator
Spouses
  • Paul Fitzpatrick
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1945; div. 1947)​
  • Syd Beaumont
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1952; died 1954)​
  • Lee Trent
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1963; div. 1969)​

Milicent Patrick (born Mildred Elizabeth Fulvia di Rossi; November 11, 1915 – February 24, 1998) was an American actress, makeup designer, special effects artist, and animator.

Born in El Paso, Texas, Patrick spent much of her early life in California, most notably in San Simeon, as her father, Camille Charles Rossi, was superintendent of construction at Hearst Castle. In 1939, Patrick began working for Walt Disney Productions and became one of the studio's first female animators. Patrick continued her career at Universal Studios and is cited as being the first woman to work in a special effects and makeup department. She is best known for being the creator of the head costume for the iconic Gill-man from the film Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954).

Early life

Mildred Elizabeth Fulvia di Rossi was born on November 11, 1915, in El Paso, Texas, the second of three children of Camille Charles Rossi and Elisa Albertine Bill.[1] Her father was superintendent of construction at Hearst Castle, working under Julia Morgan, the first licensed female architect in the state of California.[2][3] When Patrick was six, her family relocated from San Francisco to San Simeon, California.[4] During her childhood, Patrick grew close with William Hearst's wife, Millicent Hearst, who would become the namesake for Patrick's latter name change.[5] In 1932, Morgan and Camille Rossi's contentious working relationship caused Morgan to appeal to Hearst that Rossi be removed from the project, uprooting the Rossi family from the grounds at Hearst Castle.[6]

The Rossi family then moved to Glendale, California,[7] where she began attending Glendale Junior College.[8] There, she was the assistant art editor for the school's yearbook department. In 1935, she produced six illustrations of various student activities including the campus layout, school dances, and sports games. She left that same year without graduating.[9] She went on to study at Chouniard Art Institute for three years, where she focused on illustration and drawing, receiving three scholarships based on her talent.[10]

Career

Patrick began working at Walt Disney Productions in 1939 in their all-female ink and paint department.[11] By 1940, she was moved to the Animation and Effects department, where she became one of the first female animators at Disney.[12][13] Her work was featured in four sequences in the film Fantasia (1940), including animating the villain Chernabog in the final segment "Night on Bald Mountain".[14] For the segment, Swiss artist Albert Hurter had been hired to create inspirational pencil sketches. Kay Nielsen, a Danish-born illustrator, then developed several color pastel drawings based on Hurter's drawings.[15] The art design was known as the Pastel Effect, in which artists diluted the color paint to have the artwork resemble a chuck of chalky pastel.[16] She next worked as an inbetweener on the film Dumbo (1941) and appeared uncredited in The Reluctant Dragon (1941).[17] Around the same time, Rossi was profiled in the magazine Glamour.[18]

Meanwhile, several Disney animators walked out on strike demanding increased pay, better working conditions, and on-screen credit for their work.[19] The strike ended on September 21, 1941, when Disney signed a unionized contract with the Screen Cartoonist's Guild. By then, on September 12, Patrick had left Disney after privately suffering from migraine headaches.[20]

After leaving Disney, she began modeling in trade shows and as a promotional model.[21] In 1947, while waiting outside the Ambassador Hotel near a bus stop, she met William Hawks, the brother of Howard Hawks, who became her talent agent. Her first film as an extra was Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven (1948).[22]

In 1952, Patrick began working at Universal Studios' makeup department after showing Bud Westmore some of her sketches while filming The World in His Arms (1952).[23][24] She became the first woman to work in a special effects makeup department and was credited with designing the pirate faces in Against All Flags (1952), the makeup of Jack Palance in Sign of the Pagan (1954), the alien in It Came From Outer Space (1953), Mr. Hyde in Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953), the Metaluna mutant in This Island Earth (1955), and was a mask maker for The Mole People (1956).[25]

In 1953, Westmore received a phone call from producer William Alland who had learned of a mythical half-fish, half-human creature that resided near the Amazon River from cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa. He envisioned a feature film that would involve the creature and asked if Westmore's department could produce the design.[26][27] Westmore assured him of the task and first approached artist Chris Mueller to create some designs, but soon remembered Patrick's designs on It Came From Outer Space (1953). Patrick was hired to create the design but given certain limits to have the creature appear fearsome and unearthly, able to swim well, and have pulsating gills.[27]

For the Gill-man, Patrick took inspiration from researching prehistoric reptiles, amphibians, and fish, as well as animals from the Devonian period.[28][29] The film went into production in September 1953 under the working title The Sea Monster. By November 1953, the film was retitled Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954).[30] During promotion for the film, Patrick was sent on a press tour, dubbed "The Beauty Who Created the Beast", to discuss the creation of the creature.[31] This was quickly changed by Westmore to "The Beauty Who Lives With the Beast", to avoid citing Patrick as the creator of the Gill-man.[32] When she returned to Los Angeles, Patrick was informed that she would no longer worked for Universal Studios, having been let go due to Westmore's jealousy over Patrick being associated with the creation of the Gill-man.[33]

After leaving Universal, Patrick never worked on another film production and returned to small acting roles.[34] The creation of the Gill-man was credited to Westmore, until recent research, most notably by Mallory O'Meara in her 2019 book The Lady From the Black Lagoon, revealed Patrick to be the designer. Earlier, in 1978, Robert Skotak renewed interest in Patrick's career after publishing an article documenting her creature design work in the Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine.[35] Her Gill-man work was also explored in a 2011 Tor.com article by Vincent Di Fate.[25]

Personal life

Mildred Rossi met her first husband, Paul Fitzpatrick, while working at the Disney studios.[36] Fitzpatrick was married, and they began an affair that was discovered by Fitzpatrick's wife, who later died by suicide when Fitzpatrick refused to stop seeing Rossi.[37] They married in 1945, resulting in Mildred's estrangement from her family, and changing her name to Mil Fitzpatrick.[38] When they divorced, she changed her name again to Mil Patrick.[39]

In 1948, Patrick changed her name again to her most recognized name, Milicent Patrick.[22] Patrick then had a relationship with voice actor Frank L. Graham in 1950. On September 2, Graham was found dead inside his convertible in the garage holding a photograph of Patrick by his side. His death was later ruled as suicide from carbon monoxide poisoning.[40][41] She married again to Syd Beaumont, who died of cancer in 1954.[42]

In 1955, Patrick met Lee Trent, the voice actor for The Lone Ranger radio program during its first three and a half years.[43] After a tumultuous relationship marked by canceled engagements, Patrick married Trent in a Las Vegas chapel wedding on December 29, 1963.[44] They filed for divorce in January 1969,[45] but continued to have an on-off relationship for years.[46]

Patrick developed Parkinson's disease in 1988 and later breast cancer.[47] She died on February 24, 1998, at a hospice care center in Roseville, California.[48]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Animator Actress Costume designer Makeup designer Notes
1940 Fantasia Yes No No No Uncredited
1941 Dumbo Yes No No No
The Reluctant Dragon No Yes No No Appeared as herself (uncredited)
1948 Texas, Brooklyn and Heaven No Yes No No Appeared as Water Nymph (uncredited)
A Song Is Born No Yes No No Woman at Dorsey Club (uncredited)
Thunder in the Pines No Yes No No The Lady In Black (uncredited)
1949 Bride of Vengeance No Yes No No
1951 Varieties on Parade No Yes No No Ticket Girl (uncredited)
Westward the Women No Yes No No Flashy Woman (uncredited)
1952 Mara Maru No Yes No No Extra (uncredited)
Scarlet Angel No Yes No No Dolly (uncredited)
The World in His Arms No Yes No No Lena (uncredited)[49]
We're Not Married! No Yes No No Governor's Secretary (uncredited)
Limelight No Yes No No Extra (uncredited)
Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd No Yes No No Tavern Wench (uncredited)
Against All Flags No No No Yes Uncredited
1953 It Came from Outer Space No No Yes No Xenomorph Design (uncredited)
Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde No No No Yes
1954 The Creature from the Black Lagoon No No Yes Yes Designed the Gill-man creature (uncredited)
Sign of the Pagan No No No Yes
1955 This Island Earth No No Yes No Uncredited
Man Without a Star No Yes No No Appeared as Boxcar Alice (uncredited)
1956 The Women of Pitcairn Island No Yes No No Island Woman (uncredited)
He Laughed Last No Yes No No Eagle's Secretary (uncredited)
Lust for Life No Yes No No Julie (uncredited)

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1952 The Roy Rogers Show Elena Episode: "Ride of the Ranchers"
1953 Ramar of the Jungle The White Goddess Episodes: "Tribal Feud", "White Savages" & "Evil Trek"
1955 It's a Great Life Waitress / Salesgirl Episodes: "Call Michigan 4099" & "Three Hungry Men"
1958 The Restless Gun Rosita Episode: "Hornitas Town"
1959 Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse Senora Alvarez Episode: "The Killer Instinct"
1960 Lawman Mary Beyer Episode: "The Surface of Truth"
1961 Laramie Rose Episode: "The Jailbreakers"

References

  1. ↑ O'Meara 2019, p. 25.
  2. ↑ Hand, Liz (March 1, 2019). "Movie monster maker Milicent Patrick finally gets her due in 'The Lady From the Black Lagoon'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  3. ↑ De Wolfe, Evelyn (January 12, 1986). "Daughter Traces Builder's Role at Hearst Castle". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  4. ↑ O'Meara 2019, p. 41.
  5. ↑ O'Meara 2019, p. 59.
  6. ↑ O'Meara 2019, pp. 70–71.
  7. ↑ O'Meara 2019, p. 73.
  8. ↑ O'Meara 2019, p. 75.
  9. ↑ O'Meara 2019, pp. 76–77.
  10. ↑ O'Meara 2019, p. 77.
  11. ↑ O'Meara 2019, pp. 97–98.
  12. ↑ O'Meara 2019, pp. 99–100.
  13. ↑ "Honoring Chouinard Alum and Legendary Monster Designer Milicent Patrick". 24700. March 19, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  14. ↑ O'Meara 2019, pp. 101–102.
  15. ↑ Canemaker, John (1996). Before the Animation Begins: The Art and Lives of Disney Inspirational Sketch Artists. Hyperion Books. p. 77. ISBN 978-0-786-86152-1.
  16. ↑ O'Meara 2019, p. 101.
  17. ↑ O'Meara 2019, p. 103.
  18. ↑ "Girls at Work for Disney". Glamour. May 1941. pp. 50–51. Retrieved August 2, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  19. ↑ Prescod, Paul (May 29, 2021). "80 Years Ago Today, Disney Animation Workers Went on Strike". Jacobin. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  20. ↑ O'Meara 2019, pp. 104–105.
  21. ↑ O'Meara 2019, p. 112.
  22. 1 2 O'Meara 2019, p. 128.
  23. ↑ Corby, Jane (February 14, 1954). "Science-Fiction Monsters—Who Creates Them? A Girl!". Brooklyn Eagle. p. 25. Retrieved August 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  24. ↑ O'Meara 2019, p. 147.
  25. 1 2 Fate, Vincent Di (October 27, 2011). "The Fantastic Mystery of Milicent Patrick". Tor.com. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  26. ↑ O'Meara 2019, p. 180.
  27. 1 2 Skotak, Robert (1978). "Queen of the Monster Makers! Milicent's Monstrous Masterpieces". Famous Monsters of Filmland. No. 145. pp. 16–20. Retrieved August 2, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  28. ↑ O'Meara 2019, p. 188.
  29. ↑ Gaddy, Kristina (January 11, 2018). "The Forgotten Woman Behind a Legendary Monster". OZY. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  30. ↑ O'Meara 2019, p. 194.
  31. ↑ O'Meara 2019, pp. 204–205.
  32. ↑ O'Meara 2019, p. 207.
  33. ↑ O'Meara 2019, p. 234.
  34. ↑ O'Meara 2019, p. 241.
  35. ↑ O'Meara 2019, p. 281.
  36. ↑ O'Meara 2019, pp. 96, 115.
  37. ↑ O'Meara 2019, p. 116.
  38. ↑ O'Meara 2019, p. 118.
  39. ↑ O'Meara 2019, p. 126.
  40. ↑ O'Meara 2019, pp. 134–136.
  41. ↑ "Radio Star Graham Commits Suicide". Los Angeles Times. September 4, 1950. Part I, p. 6. Retrieved August 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  42. ↑ O'Meara 2019, p. 242.
  43. ↑ O'Meara 2019, p. 248.
  44. ↑ O'Meara 2019, p. 268.
  45. ↑ O'Meara 2019, p. 276.
  46. ↑ O'Meara 2019, pp. 282–283.
  47. ↑ O'Meara 2019, pp. 292, 296.
  48. ↑ O'Meara 2019, p. 296.
  49. ↑ Weaver, Tom; Schecter, David; Kiss, Robert J; Kronenberg, Steve (2017). Universal Terrors, 1951-1955: Eight Classic Horror and Science Fiction Films. McFarland. pp. 179–181. ISBN 9781476627762.

Bibliography

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