Gordon Bau
| Robert Gordon Bau | |
|---|---|
| Born |
July 1, 1907 Minnesota, USA |
| Died |
July 21, 1975 (aged 68) Los Angeles, California |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) |
| Residence | Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Occupation | Make-up supervisor at Warner Brothers Studios |
| Spouse(s) | Bonnie L. Szabo |
Robert Gordon Bau, known as Gordon Bau and sometimes as Gordy Bau (July 1, 1907 – July 21, 1975), was the make-up supervisor at Warner Brothers Studios in Los Angeles, California, who worked in scores of films and episodes of more than twenty television series.[1]
Career
A native of Minnesota, Bau and his brother, George Bau (December 22, 1905 – March 31, 1974), worked for Rubbercraft, a firm which specialized in rubber parts for industrial uses. They began moonlighting by performing make-up for films and later television. The brothers built rubber eye prosthetics which could make white actors appear Asian on screen. While Gordon Bau became head of make-up services for Warner Brothers, George Bau headed the prosthetics laboratory at the studio.[2]
Bau's work in films is voluminous, from Andy Griffith's Onionhead and Auntie Mame (1958) to John Wayne's Rio Bravo and Clint Walker's Yellowstone Kelly (both 1959), and Jeffrey Hunter's Sergeant Rutledge (1960). He also worked on Susan Slade (1961), The Days of Wine and Roses (1962), Kisses for My President (1964), and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966). His last film work was Dirty Harry (1971) and The All American Boy (1973).
Bau's work with ABC and WB included the following series, in order of year of debut:
- Conflict, one episode, "Man from 1997" (1956), with Jacques Sernas, Charles Ruggles, Gloria Talbott, and James Garner
- Cheyenne, 108 episodes
- Maverick, 124 episodes
- Sugarfoot, 69 episodes
- Colt .45, 67 episodes
- Bronco, 68 episodes
- 77 Sunset Strip, 206 episodes
- Lawman, 156 episodes
- The Alaskans, 37 episodes
- Bourbon Street Beat, 39 episodes
- Hawaiian Eye, 134 episodes
- The Roaring 20s, 45 episodes
- Surfside 6, 74 episodes
- The Gallant Men, 26 episodes
- The Dakotas, 19 episodes
- Wendy and Me, 34 episodes
- F Troop, 65 episodes
Bau also was make-up supervisor for these additional television series:
- Mister Roberts, NBC 30 episodes
- Hank, NBC 26 episodes
- G.E. True, CBS 1 episode "Security Risk" (1963)
- Kung Fu, ABC pilot episode (1972)[1][3]
Death
In 1969, Bau married Bonnie L. Szabo, but it is unclear if they were still married at the time of his death six years later at the age of sixty-eight. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, California.[4]
References
- 1 2 "Gordon Bau Biography". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
- ↑ "The Men Behind the Monsters: George and Gordon Bau -- Make-up Artists". monsterkidclassichorrorforum.yuku.com. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
- ↑ "Gordon Bau". tv.com. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
- ↑ "Gordon Bau". findagrave.com. Retrieved September 3, 2014.