September 30, 2020

"On Aug. 8, 1974, Lillian Brown, a longtime makeup artist for presidents, was urgently summoned to the White House, where she saw President Richard M. Nixon sobbing."

"Engulfed by the Watergate scandal, he was about to go on national television and announce that he was resigning. If he didn’t stop crying, she knew, his makeup would streak down his face. 'He was in bad shape,' Ms. Brown recalled years later. 'We had six minutes to air, and I thought, What can I do for this man?' She tried humor. She reminded him of the time one Christmas when his Irish setter, King Timahoe, kept bumping into the tree and destroying the ornaments. To get the dog away from the tree, Ms. Brown took him into a bathroom, and somehow, as if scripted by the Marx Brothers, she, the dog and Nixon all ended up locked in the loo by the Secret Service. Nixon burst into laughter. With no time to spare, Ms. Brown made him presentable, and he went before the cameras."

From "Lillian Brown, Makeup Artist to Nine Presidents, Dies at 106/She did more than powder noses; she advised on diction and apparel and helped commanders in chief put their best selves forward for television" (NYT).

18 comments:

Sally327 said...

Lillian Brown, someone whose discretion apparently could not be counted on. She just couldn't keep her yap shut.

Michael K said...

Sounds like self promotion.

Nancy said...

That Night at the Opera scene is among the best pieces of cinema ever.

Wince said...

Obama got away with what Nixon only dreamed of, the poor schmuck.

cacimbo said...

She served the Presidents of both parties. Can not imagine that happening today. Professional photographers have admitted to purposefully making Republicans look bad - surely makeup artists would do the same. If Trump had not been sporting his unique do for decades I would believe it was a successful Democrat op to make him look bizarre.

Psota said...

The Dems/media/FBI/CIA were so clearly trying to re-run the Nixon playbook on Trump. It makes you take a second look at what was really going on with Watergate.

In retrospect, Nixon never should have resigned. But back in those days, you were in big trouble if you lost the WaPo, the NYT and the moderate lame-o wing of the GOP

Rhonda said...

Why’d it take almost 50 years to know this story? It humanizes a man most people thought was not very human. And in her position for however long she was in it.....she saw “all kinds” as the saying used to go, was more than likely professional and unbiased, doing her job after all. This is a woman (person) we used to have in abundance but now seems (is viewed as) out of touch. Sad.

CStanley said...

I was cringing as I started to read the story but it ended up being wonderful. I’m glad it wasn’t told earlier while he was still alive but equally glad to read it now.

etbass said...

"It humanizes a man most people thought was not very human."

Men must cry to be thought human.

J. Farmer said...

A fitting story given the mythology that has grown surrounding the use of makeup (or lack thereof) in the 1960 televised debate with Kennedy.

Nixon made a habit of public weeping. He was photographed weeping after the Checkers speech and Eisenhower's assurance he would remain on the ticket. His breaking down and weeping before announcing his resignation was reported at the time. Twenty years later, Nixon famously wept before the nation at Pat's funeral.

I watched Frost/Nixon when it was first released, mostly because I'm a Frank Langella nut. He did a pretty good job, but the movie was a joke. Frost had nothing like a gotcha moment in the original interviews as depicted in the movie, and his arrangement with Nixon essentially made them business partners, not adversaries.

eddie willers said...

It makes you take a second look at what was really going on with Watergate.

So true. I was appalled back then (a burglary!) but now it seems no different than someone trying to hack the opponent's computer.

bbear said...

I met Nixon once in early 1960 when he was still Eisenhower's VP. Just for a couple of minutes at the airport in Miami, long enough to shake hands and exchange pleasantries. Thought he looked a lot better in person than what we were used to seeing, though of course TV was still black & white then and, as Paul Simon observed, "everything looks worse in black and white."

Bay Area Guy said...

Nixon had feelings too!

boatbuilder said...

I remember King Timahoe. Great name for a dog.

CJinPA said...

I love that story and I love that Marx Brothers scene. But we have no idea if it is actually a made-up story.

Bay Area Guy said...

I remember as a kid maybe age 7 or 8 and going to a nice old movie theater in Berkeley on University Ave, where they played old movies, and seeing The Marx Bros for the first time, not knowing anything, and just laughing so hard you started crying and almost peeing your pants.

Who are these crazy bastards? Ba-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!!!!!

Narayanan said...

Psota said...
The Dems/media/FBI/CIA were so clearly trying to re-run the Nixon playbook on Trump. It makes you take a second look at what was really going on with Watergate.

In retrospect, Nixon never should have resigned. But back in those days, you were in big trouble if you lost the WaPo, the NYT and the moderate lame-o wing of the GOP
-----------===============
Archibald Cox Jr. (May 17, 1912 – May 29, 2004) was an American lawyer and law professor who served as U.S. Solicitor General under President John F. Kennedy and as a special prosecutor during the Watergate scandal.

???? Was he not also lawyer for JFK in the election rigging earlier Chicago etc/?

PatHMV said...

I met her once; she came and spoke at a very special course I took in college. Fascinating woman. I bought her book, it's given me invaluable advice over the years.