Greg Cannom, Oscar-Winning Makeup Artist on ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula’ and ‘Mrs. Doubtfire,’ Dies at 73

by

Renowned prosthetics and makeup artist, Greg Cannom – known for his Academy Award-winning contributions to films like “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”, “Mrs. Doubtfire”, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, and “Vice” – has passed away at the age of 73.

Earlier in his career, Cannom frequently collaborated with renowned makeup artist Rick Baker. On Friday, Baker announced on Instagram that Cannom had passed away. His contributions are certain to be remembered for a long time to come. At the moment, no specifics about the circumstances have been disclosed.

In March 2023, a charitable fundraising page called GoFundMe was established to aid Cannom in covering his medical costs, as he was fighting both diabetes and a severe staph infection that necessitated the amputation of his leg below the knee.

Besides his four victories, Cannom was also nominated for six additional Oscars in the makeup category. These nominations were for the films Hook (1991), Hoffa (1992), Roommates (1995), Titanic (1997), Bicentennial Man (1999), and A Beautiful Mind (2001).

In 2005, he and Wesley Wofford jointly won an Academy Award for Technical Achievement. This was in recognition of their innovation – the creation of a unique, specially modified silicone material specifically designed for use in movie make-up.

In the year 2019, he was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild.

Cannom excelled at creating on-screen aging effects; for instance, observe Kevin Pollak in “The Whole Ten Yards” (2004), Brad Pitt in “Babel” (2006) and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (2008), Russell Crowe in “A Beautiful Mind”, Robin Williams in “Bicentennial Man” and Christian Bale, portraying Dick Cheney, in “Vice” (2018).

In 2006, he received one of his five Emmy nominations for his performance in the final episode of the initial run of the NBC comedy series “Will & Grace,” where the characters experienced a time jump of approximately two decades.

When creating monsters, you have complete freedom. However, with aging makeup, since everyone is familiar with how people naturally age, it needs to be exceptionally well-done,” he stated during an interview in 2021.

His ability to transform young actors from The Lost Boys (1987) into convincing vampires, while preserving their youthful charm, is widely praised. Additionally, he played a significant role in making Williams and Martin Lawrence appear credible as female characters in Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) and the Big Momma’s House films of 2000 and 2006.

Cannom expressed that it was Dick Smith’s remarkable aging makeup work on Max Von Sydow in the 1973 film, “The Exorcist,” which left him spellbound and fueled his desire to build a career in Hollywood.

Following his time at Cypress College in sunny Southern California and employment during Halloween seasons at Knott’s Berry Farm amusement park, he established a connection with Baker and worked alongside him on the 1978 production of “It Lives Again.

They jointly worked on “The Howling” (1981), “The Incredible Shrinking Woman” (1981), “Cocoon” (1985), the Fox series “Werewolf” from 1987-88, and perhaps most notably on the 1983 music video for Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” In simpler terms, they teamed up on several projects, including movies like “The Howling” and “Cocoon,” a TV series called “Werewolf,” and the iconic “Thriller” music video by Michael Jackson.

Towards the finale, Cannom is prominently shown in a close-up shot, portraying one of the vampires. Notably, his makeup was skillfully done by Charles H. Schram, who is renowned for his work on the classic film “The Wizard of Oz.

His impressive list of films spanned a variety of genres, from horror like Dreamscape (1984) and A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 (1987) to comedy such as Big Top Pee-wee (1988) and The Mask (1994). He also appeared in action movies like Dick Tracy (1990), Alien 3 (1992), and Blade (1998), and sci-fi films including Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003). He also played roles in dramas like Postcards From the Edge (1990), The Insider (1999), Hannibal (2001), and The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021), which was his final film.

Collaborated on seven movies that were nominated for the Best Picture award: Titanic, The Insider, A Beautiful Mind, Master and Commander, Babel, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Vice. Among these, Titanic and A Beautiful Mind were the ones that ultimately won.

He gave credit for the Oscars he won to Michèle Burke, Matthew W. Mungle in Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), Ve Neill and Yolanda Toussieng in Mrs. Doubtfire, and Kate Biscoe and Patricia Dehaney in Vice.

Read More

2025-05-10 19:54