Nose jobs and false teeth and diet pills, oh my! The Golden Age of Hollywood hid some
dark beauty secrets… along with a small army paid to make the era’s stars picture perfect.
“Alright, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up.”
Marlene Dietrich first graced the silver screen with her bedroom eyes and cutting
cheekbones in the early 1920s. She made a name for herself in films like "The Tragedy
of Love," "The Ship of Lost Men," and "Der Blaue Engel," which was the first talking
picture film in Germany. When she wasn't seducing the public with her sultry voice,
she was adorning her face in surgical tape and topping the look off with a tight,
high ponytail in order to achieve those iconic cheekbones, per Marie Claire.
Like most beauty techniques, this strategically positioned ponytail,
meant to draw her cheekbones in an upward position, came at a price. The look,
which became known as the Croydon Facelift, is said to cause permanent hair loss over time.
The hair loss was likely not a big deal to the star, who is rumored to have also
surgically removed her molars to achieve and maintain her famous facial structure.
There has been much ado about racial discrimination and the harmful perpetuation
of stereotypes during the Golden Age of cinema. What's spoken about less,
however, is the "whitewashing" of actors hailing from minority backgrounds. Take,
for example, Rita Hayworth, who held the old Hollywood title of the "All-American Girl."
Marie Claire reports that in order to achieve this prestigious title,
Rita Hayworth, whose birth name was Margarita Carmen Cansino,
had to shed much of her Latina heritage. This included her name and also her hairline,
which was originally a full inch lower on her face. After some extensive electrolysis
treatments and applications of lighter hair dye, Hayworth's transformation was complete.
This might have been a hair-raising experience, but it was, in no way, unique to Rita Hayworth.
Marilyn Monroe is said to have undertaken similar procedures to remove her widow's peak.
When they signed a contract with a major studio, Hollywood icons of the past were forced to undergo
what Racked refers to as "identity-shifting transitions." They would be given an image
they would then have to maintain in every sense of the word - from the physical to the moral.
In fact, leading entertainment corporation MGM Studios had approximately 52 cosmetologists on
hand to ensure their strict standards were met. Stars endured facial contouring procedures using
gelatin and putty. They had their freckles removed with harsh chemical creams. They wore false teeth,
porcelain dental caps, and Pan-Cake makeup manufactured by Max Factor,
to present themselves as flawless. Even male actors were in on the gig,
donning false mustaches and phony muscular physiques.
According to Harper's Bazaar, beauty was so sought after in the early years
of Hollywood that the phrase "looks over talent" became a backstage motto for most.
“Well, Gil. How do I look?”
“You look alright, Red. You don’t sound so good.”
In 2017, authors Angela Cartwright and Tom McLaren published "Styling the Stars: Lost Treasures from
the Twentieth-Century Fox Archive." The book is an entire stockpile of photos exposing vintage
Hollywood stars for exactly what they were - imperfect individuals just like everyone else.
Camera tricks as crafty as any Instagram filter were often used. But if all else failed,
plastic surgery was, literally and figuratively, on the table. The Independent details the history
of plastic surgery, which actually predates both vintage Hollywood and even anesthesia,
as painful as that sounds. By the turn of the 20th century,
cosmetic surgery companies had stepped on the scene promising surgical enhancements
for several ailments, the most notable being "ill-shaped noses." Rhinoplasty,
a method used to reshape a patient's nose, was in full effect in the early 1900s.
Procedures wherein skin grafts were taken from the arm and redistributed to shape
someone's nose were less talked about, but they most certainly happened. One
particularly stomach-turning example of rhinoplasty consists of a patient's nose
being injected with scorching hot paraffin wax and then molded like a sculpture on the face.
In worst-case scenarios, the wax could cause cancer or permanent disfigurement of the face.
Some stars are believed to still have taken the plastic surgery risk,
such as Marilyn Monroe, whose posthumous skull
x-rays suggest the cartilage at the tip of her nose had been reshaped.
Diet pills and injections
Drug use was a dark secret that eclipsed the Golden Age of Hollywood. But not all
drugs were used to alter an actor's state of mind. They were also notoriously used to
alter their appearances. The most well-known example of this is perhaps also the saddest.
For the film classic blockbuster "The Wizard of Oz," young star Judy Garland was force-fed
copious amounts of harmful pills in order to keep her weight down and her energy up.
“Why my little party’s just beginning.”
Biography reports that Garland died at age 47 due to an overdose as a
direct result of a substance use disorder, which many believe started with the studio.
This very same struggle was common among other stars, who were also encouraged to take dangerous
drugs to maintain their trim, on-screen figures. According to History, '50s actor Joanna Moore was
prescribed mood and image-altering amphetamines for weight loss, which her Hollywood doctor
elusively described as "vitamin injections." Dr. Lee Siege of Twentieth Century Fox spoke
candidly on the subject years later, telling Marilyn Monroe biographer Anthony Summers:
"Pills were seen as another tool to keep stars working."
The skinny on these weight loss tactics only gets worse. Harper's Bazaar reports that weight control
wasn't optional for these classic vintage stars. It was built into their contracts,
further driving the incentive to go to drastic, sometimes deadly, lengths.
If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues,
help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).