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This week I bring you part 2 of our latest podcast episode titled "Detectives and Monsters". In this entry, I'm talking about monsters in Hollywood...noooo...the other kind...well..both. Anyway...Milicent Patrick was born Mildred Rossi in 1915. When she was 6, her family began living on the property of publisher William Randolph Hearst. Her father, Camille Rossi was the superintendent of construction (that would be an interesting story too, because if you know Hearst Castle, you know that building it was a major feat due to limited transportation at the time and the remote, hilly location. But this isn't about him).
During her lifetime she was an animator, actress, model, costume designer, children’s book illustrator, makeup artist and special effects makeup artist. And despite her impressive resume, she’s gone largely uncelebrated in Hollywood over the years.
In 1939, Patrick began working at Walt Disney Productions in in their all-female ink and paint department. By 1940, she was moved to the Animation and Effects department, where she became one of the first female animators at Disney. Her work was featured in four sequences in the film Fantasia. She also worked on the film Dumbo (1941) and appeared uncredited in The Reluctant Dragon (1941). Around the same time, Rossi was profiled in Glamour magazine. Meanwhile, several Disney animators walked out on strike demanding increased pay, better working conditions, and on-screen credit for their work. 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 (girl, I feel you!)
After leaving Disney, she began modeling in trade shows and as a promotional model, which was not a career her family particularly liked (in fact they would eventually cut her off, citing this kind of work as being akin to prostitution). 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. After that, she worked in many movies as an extra.
In 1952, Patrick began working at Universal Studios' makeup department after showing Bud Westmore some of her sketches. She became the first woman to work in a special effects makeup department. It's funny when you read about her career and filmography, because the write ups say "she was credit with creating xyz", but in fact, MOST of her work was uncredited! For instance, according to Wikipedia, "she was credited with designing the pirate faces in Against All Flags (1952)" - um, nope. She was uncredited for that. Next..."the makeup of Jack Palance in Sign of the Pagan (1954)" - Ok she got credit for that one. "... the alien in It Came From Outer Space (1953)" - NOPE. she designed THE alien and was uncredited in the movie. What the fuck? Next? Give me hope, Wiki! ..."Mr. Hyde in Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953)" - oh thank Goddess, she did get credit for that!. ..."the Metaluna mutant in This Island Earth (1955)" - Nope. Goddessdamnit! "and was a mask maker for The Mole People (1956)" - Nope. That one doesn't even appear in her filmography on Wiki (which we know can be imperfect), and on IMDb, her name is no where to be found on that film!
<pause for minor outrage>
In 1953, Westmore received a phone call from producer William Alland who had learned from cinematrographer Gabriel Figueroa of a mythical half-fish, half-human creature that resided near the Amazon River. He envisioned a feature film that would involve the creature and asked if Westmore's department could produce the design. 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"...
In my mind it goes like this: Hey Mil, you know that movie where you created the main protagonist and didn't get any credit? Well that was real swell, doll. Would you like to do it again? You still won't get credit kid, but you're great.
Patrick was hired to create the design, and it was a tall order. The creature needed to appear fearsome and unearthly, be able to swim well, and have pulsating gills. Pulsating gills...1953!
So, for the "Gill-man", Patrick she researched prehistoric reptiles, amphibians, and fish, as well as animals from the Devonian period. 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". 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. She had earned the title "The Beauty who Created the Beast", but ol’ Bud, well, he didn't like that much. Westmore said no, and remamed it "the beauty who lives with the beast". It should have been "the badass who worked with a beast", but onward we go.
So ol' Bud was like Ok kid, sure, we'll send you around the country but you have to tell people I designed it. You can't take credit for it. According to author and biographer Mallory O'Meara, "Bud Westmore was so jealous of all of the attention she was getting that he fired her, and she came back to Los Angeles, and she never worked behind the scenes in Hollywood ever again." Well that fucking blows. What a dick move. But...
“It was the ’50s. She couldn’t fight back,” said O’Meara.
<fantasy monologue intermission> You know...the 50's! The glorious good ol' days that half this country is so eager to return to! <said dreamily>...The Fifties.... <inside my brain> "Oh sorry darling, I was daydreaming! Let me get your slippers and... oh my gosh I have to take the meatloaf out of the oven. Kids! Wash your hands and come tell your father how wonderful he is so you don't get the belt later. That makes father grouchy and then I have to endure sex with him but I can't be on birth control or have an abortion for pity's sake! I can't even have a bank account! So kids just go wash your hands!" <end scene>
But as usual, I digress!
Patrick continued to work as a bit actress through the 1960s. She also had a string of doomed romances which have nothing whatsoever to do with her career, which is what we're talking about here. Despite her unfortunate experiences with Hollywood, she never stopped creating: Patrick designed her own outfits and drew portraits of many co-stars including Kirk Douglas.
"The Gill-man’s costume is incredibly impressive. It’s a full body suit that needed to function both above and below the water. Even to a modern viewer, it’s beautiful. But at the time, it would have been almost mind-blowing to audiences. Especially as 'Creature' was released in 3D. It’s still a stunning film to watch. Famously, The Gill-man’s gills actually move as he breathes...Having played so many creatures over so many years, I can tell you that that it takes a village to make a monster," says actor Doug Jones. He played the amphibian man in the Oscar-winning 2017 film The Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro's homage to The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Jones says the crews of artists rarely get accolades.
"Designers and creature creators and makeup artists are — you know, it's a tight circle of people," Jones says. "Legacies have been have been passed down from one generation to the next. And so for her name to never have come up until now is a travesty."
On IMDb, which is of course a modern resource, Milicent Patrick's mini bio states "She received chief credit for developing and designing the "Creature of the Black Lagoon". Um. Nooooo. As stated earlier, she did not. Even on the IMDb listing for that film, Milicent Patrick is listed as uncredited. I mean I guess her name is at least there, even though it wasn't in the film credits. She's listed as "additional crew" and "make up department", and to be fair, the male make up artists are also listed as "uncredited".
The creation of the Creature 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. (Thank you Ms. O'Meara!!!) When Westmore died in 1973, Patrick began to privately take credit for the Creature. Good for you Mil! Sing it loud! Other people also starting paying attention to her previously uncredited work. In 1978, Robert Skotak published an article documenting her creature design work in the Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine. Her Gill-man work was also explored in a 2011 Tor.com article by Vincent Di Fate.
Milicent Patrick Rossi Trent went on to life as a society lady in Los Angeles, and continued to sketch portraits. “She never allowed herself to be tamped down,” O’Meara said of Patrick, who died in 1998 at age 83. “She carried her SAG card till her death; she filled her home with portraits of friends.”
I think it's clear who the real beast was in this story. Today, guys like Bud Westmore are called "The Patriarchy"...