About

Known credits:
189
Birthday:
1897-09-27
Place of birth:
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Website:
N/A

Mel Berns

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mel Berns (September 27, 1897 - May 7, 1977) was an American make-up artist. He was the Head of Makeup at RKO Pictures for more than twenty years.

Berns began his career in the entertainment industry while working as an agent at the William Morris Agency. Later he became the Head of Makeup at RKO Pictures for more than twenty years, creating the makeup for Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and Katharine Hepburn's screentest. He was a lifelong friend of Ginger Rogers, who makes ample reference to their friendship in her autobiography: Ginger: My Story.

He worked extensively in television after leaving RKO, notably the Perry Mason series. "The crew is giving it the best of Hollywood's techniques," Burr told columnist Erskine Johnson. The crew included veteran make-up artist Berns.

The baseball player Babe Ruth had severe scarring from acne on his face. Mel Berns developed makeup for Ruth so that Ruth could feel more comfortable in public. A picture of Ruth and Berns shows Ruth in a smock and Berns applying makeup to his face. The picture is autographed to Berns by Babe Ruth.

Known for

Costume & Make-Up
1963 Gidget Goes to Rome Costume & Make-Up Makeup Supervisor 58
Average
1958 The Girl Most Likely Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1957 Jet Pilot Costume & Make-Up Makeup Department Head 58
Average
1956 Bundle of Joy Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1956 Broken Arrow Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 68
Fair
1956 The Conqueror Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 56
Average
1956 Slightly Scarlet Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1955 Tennessee's Partner Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1955 Pearl of the South Pacific Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1955 The Phenix City Story Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1955 Son of Sinbad Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1955 A Bullet for Joey Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1955 Underwater! Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1955 Underwater! Costume & Make-Up Makeup Supervisor 58
Average
1954 Susan Slept Here Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1954 Dangerous Mission Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1954 She Couldn't Say No Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1954 The French Line Costume & Make-Up Makeup Department Head 58
Average
1953 Devil's Canyon Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1953 Second Chance Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1953 Affair with a Stranger Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1953 Split Second Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1953 The Hitch-Hiker Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 61
Fair
1953 Angel Face Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 61
Fair
1952 Blackbeard, the Pirate Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1952 Androcles and the Lion Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1952 The Lusty Men Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1952 One Minute to Zero Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1952 Beware, My Lovely Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1952 The Big Sky Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1952 Clash by Night Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 60
Fair
1952 The Half-Breed Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1952 At Sword's Point Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1952 Macao Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1952 A Girl in Every Port Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1952 The Las Vegas Story Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1951 On Dangerous Ground Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 60
Fair
1951 Two Tickets to Broadway Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1951 The Racket Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1951 Behave Yourself! Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1951 Flying Leathernecks Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1951 His Kind of Woman Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1951 Best of the Badmen Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1951 Sealed Cargo Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1951 My Forbidden Past Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1951 Payment on Demand Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1951 The Company She Keeps Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1950 Gambling House Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1950 Where Danger Lives Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1950 Born to Be Bad Costume & Make-Up Makeup Department Head 58
Average
1950 Never a Dull Moment Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1950 Border Treasure Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1950 The White Tower Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1950 Armored Car Robbery Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1950 Rider from Tucson Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1950 Storm Over Wyoming Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1950 Quicksand Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1950 Dynamite Pass Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1950 The Secret Fury Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1950 Stromboli Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 62
Fair
1949 The Big Wheel Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1949 Mighty Joe Young Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1949 The Great Dan Patch Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1949 The Window Costume & Make-Up Key Makeup Artist 59
Average
1949 Outpost in Morocco Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1949 Cover Up Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1948 The Boy with Green Hair Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1948 Jungle Patrol Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1948 An Innocent Affair Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1948 The Babe Ruth Story Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1948 Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1947 Out of the Past Costume & Make-Up Makeup Department Head 68
Fair
1947 The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 60
Fair
1947 Born to Kill Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1947 Trail Street Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1946 The Locket Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1946 Undercurrent Costume & Make-Up Makeup Department Head 58
Average
1946 Notorious Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 72
Good
1946 Sunset Pass Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1946 Bedlam Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1946 Badman's Territory Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1946 Heartbeat Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1946 From This Day Forward Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1946 Breakfast in Hollywood Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1945 Cornered Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1945 Johnny Angel Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1945 The Spanish Main Costume & Make-Up Makeup Department Head 59
Average
1945 The Body Snatcher Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 61
Fair
1945 It's a Pleasure Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1944 Murder, My Sweet Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 62
Fair
1944 None But the Lonely Heart Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1944 Music in Manhattan Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1944 Youth Runs Wild Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1944 Mademoiselle Fifi Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1944 Bride by Mistake Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1944 Step Lively Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1944 Marine Raiders Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1944 Days of Glory Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1944 A Night of Adventure Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1944 Gildersleeve's Ghost Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1944 Tender Comrade Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1944 Show Business Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1944 Seven Days Ashore Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1944 The Curse of the Cat People Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1944 The Falcon Out West Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1944 Action in Arabia Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1943 Higher and Higher Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1943 Government Girl Costume & Make-Up Makeup Designer 58
Average
1943 Behind the Rising Sun Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1943 The Sky's the Limit Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1943 Mr. Lucky Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1943 Stage Door Canteen Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1943 Above Suspicion Costume & Make-Up Hairstylist 59
Average
1943 Above Suspicion Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1943 Ladies' Day Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1943 The Outlaw Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1943 Hitler's Children Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1942 Cat People Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 64
Fair
1942 The Big Street Costume & Make-Up Makeup Department Head 58
Average
1942 The Pride of the Yankees Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 61
Fair
1942 The Magnificent Ambersons Costume & Make-Up Makeup Department Head 65
Fair
1942 Joan of Paris Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1941 Ball of Fire Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 63
Fair
1941 Suspicion Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 66
Fair
1941 The Devil and Miss Jones Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 60
Fair
1941 Footlight Fever Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1941 Mr. & Mrs. Smith Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1941 Play Girl Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1941 The Saint In Palm Springs Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1940 They Knew What They Wanted Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1940 Dance, Girl, Dance Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1940 Stranger on the Third Floor Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1940 Anne of Windy Poplars Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1940 The Saint Takes Over Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1940 My Favorite Wife Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 61
Fair
1940 Curtain Call Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1939 The Hunchback of Notre Dame Costume & Make-Up Makeup Department Head 62
Fair
1939 The Flying Deuces Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 60
Fair
1939 In Name Only Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 60
Fair
1939 The Saint in London Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1939 Love Affair Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 60
Fair
1939 Gunga Din Costume & Make-Up Makeup Department Head 60
Fair
1939 The Great Man Votes Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1938 The Mad Miss Manton Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1938 Room Service Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 60
Fair
1938 Carefree Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1938 Bringing Up Baby Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 69
Fair
1937 Breakfast for Two Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1937 Stage Door Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 60
Fair
1937 The Life of the Party Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1937 The Toast of New York Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1937 New Faces of 1937 Costume & Make-Up Makeup Department Head 58
Average
1937 Quality Street Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1936 A Woman Rebels Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1935 Sylvia Scarlett Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1935 In Person Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1935 Annie Oakley Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1935 Alice Adams Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1935 The Nitwits Costume & Make-Up Makeup Department Head 58
Average
1935 Break of Hearts Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1935 Murder on a Honeymoon Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1934 The Little Minister Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1934 Anne of Green Gables Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1934 Kentucky Kernels Costume & Make-Up Makeup Department Head 58
Average
1934 Down to Their Last Yacht Costume & Make-Up Makeup Department Head 59
Average
1934 Of Human Bondage Costume & Make-Up Makeup Department Head 59
Average
1934 Finishing School Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1934 Sing and Like it Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1934 Spitfire Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1934 Two Alone Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1933 The Son of Kong Costume & Make-Up Makeup Department Head 57
Average
1933 Little Women Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 60
Fair
1933 Ann Vickers Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1933 Rafter Romance Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1933 Morning Glory Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1933 Melody Cruise Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1933 Professional Sweetheart Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1933 Sweepings Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1933 Lost in Limehouse or Lady Esmerelda's Predicament Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1933 King Kong Costume & Make-Up Makeup Supervisor 71
Good
1933 Christopher Strong Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1932 The Animal Kingdom Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1932 Little Orphan Annie Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1932 A Bill of Divorcement Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1932 What Price Hollywood? Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1932 Girl Crazy Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average
1932 The Lost Squadron Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1931 Smart Woman Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 59
Average
1931 The Gay Diplomat Costume & Make-Up Makeup Artist 58
Average