JUST THE ARTIFACTS, MA'AM!

Jeez, it came to me that it's been a decade since I was published in the UK's WE BELONG DEAD issue #12, which included my article, "Jack P. Pierce: Making the World's Most Famous Monsters". So what, you say? Well, there's an interesting story behind that . . .

Sometime before that happened, I visited the Margaret Herrick Library in Beverly Hills, CA to conduct research on Mr. Pierce. For those who aren't aware, this is one of the most prestigious libraries of cinema history on the planet. They are also also a part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences -- you know, the outfit that runs the Oscars. This description from their website explains:

The Margaret Herrick Library is one of the world’s preeminent research facilities dedicated to preserving the artform and industry of motion pictures. Its holdings, amassed since 1928, include books, photographs, scripts, posters, production records, costume design drawings, and so much more. Located in Beverly Hills, the library is open to the public by appointment and used year-round by students, scholars, historians and industry professionals.

Sadly, the file they had on who I consider to be the greatest monster makeup artist from the Golden Age of Horror had just a scant few clippings about him -- so slim I thought the folder was empty! The librarian seemed to be a little apologetic, too, and told me that the library relies to an extent on donations of material for their holdings.

Armed with that knowledge, I decided to rectify the situation and promised myself that I would write an article on his career and see if I could at least add a little more substance to Pierce's file. At that time, I was in the early stages of collecting material on Pierce for the book that my co-author and I had begun (don't look for it yet -- we're still working on it!), and we already had a fair amount of biographical information.

But, first, I had to find a publisher to actually print my article! After flying back home, I wrote it a wave of inspiration and luckily found a publisher with --of all 'zines -- Eric McNaughton's recently resurrected WE BELONG DEAD. Shortly after receiving my contributor's copy I made good on my promise and sent a copy of the article to the Margaret Herrick Library.

A few weeks later, I received the following letter in the mail (redacted for the reasons of privacy):

It was only then when it hit me that something I'd written had been accepted as a library research document. Needless to say, I was thrilled and so far, it's been one of the highlights of my writing career. And most of all, Jack Pierce deserves it, don't you think?

Visit the WE BELONG DEAD website HERE.

Buy issue #12 HERE.