Step by Step Makeup Process
Andy
Kaufman created one of the most memorable characters in show biz history
when he breathed life into the obnoxious lounge singer Tony Clifton. In
order to completely submerge himself in the character, he and creative
partner Bob Zmuda felt it was important to change Andy's physical appearance
as much as possible. They had full facial prosthetics designed to give
him a jowly look, a fat pad to make the usually thin Andy look paunchy,
and prosthetic dentures designed to make his teeth look nubby and nicotine
stained.
In character as Tony Clifton, Andy Kaufman was virtually unrecognizable.
Here,
you'll see step-by-step photos of the entire Tony Clifton make-up process
recreated by Wally Wingert.
To completely change Wally's appearance when he's in character as Tony, special dentures were constructed to change the shape of Wally's teeth and mouth.
Hollywood's hottest teethmaker Gary Archer of GA Enterprises tests the tightness of the fit over Wally's real teeth.
First, Wally's hair is twisted into 5 pincurls and secured with bobby pins. This will give the wig clips in the wig something to snap into, thus attaching the wig securely on his head.
The prosthetic piece to make the face look jowly includes the cheeks, nose and chin all in one. In order to get an idea where the glue should be placed on the face, the piece is held on and powdered around.
When you remove the piece, you can see the exact area that should be covered with the adhesive.
First, Pros-Aides medical adhesive is swabbed onto the inside of the piece in the nose area. If a make-up artist was doing the piece on Wally, chances are the entire piece would be swabbed and placed on his face. However, because he's doing it himself, the placement of the piece is guaranteed to be better if one section at a time is attached. He'll start with the nose; the centerpiece of the appliance.
As the adhesive is drying on the appliance and becoming tacky, adhesive is also added to Wally's nose. It's allowed to dry a little while to the desired tackiness.
The nose portion of the
appliance is
carefully centered over Wally's nose, and placed on the adhesive.
Since the chin is next,
the piece is folded up and secured with medical tape. Then the inside
of the piece is swabbed with Pros-Aides on the chin section, and Wally's
chin is also swabbed. Again, the Pros-Aides is given a chance to dry and
become tacky.
The chin is secured.
The exact same procedure is done with the left and right cheeks.
The edges of the piece that may have been missed with the adhesive are found and glued down.