Jack Wilson - Make Up Artist - Crew Member of the Week

Jack Wilson - Make Up Artist

Jack Wilson was a tall, lean man with ginger hair, glasses and a beard and he was a veteran Make Up artist when he started working on Fame in 1981, with over 40 years worth of experience in the Make Up field. 

He had first gone to work for MGM in 1945 and had worked on projects like: "Gigi", "The Fugitive" and "The Invaders".

Jack worked on 85 episodes of "Fame" as the sole Make Up artist covering all of Seasons, 1 to 3 and then on selected episodes in Seasons 4 and 5.  

He was nominated for an Emmy in 1983 for the Outstanding Achievement in Make Up Award for the Episode "Not In Kansas Anymore".

Carol Mayo Jenkins remembers Jack as being "Just Divine".   She stated in 2019 at the Fame U.K. Reunion Q&A: 

"One time, I had a very big scene, that I was getting ready to do in the very beginning. Right before he came and put powder on my face and I knocked his hand away because I was concentrating on what I had to do.

I filmed the scene, it was over. I went back to the trailer. Jack came back to my trailer and said, 'Now Listen, I have to explain to you. If your nose is shiny, they're not going to yell at you, they're going to yell at me. It's my job to make you look good and you have to figure out a way to let me do that!' It Such a good lesson. A wonderful lesson to learn".

When interviewed in 1983 Jack said: 

"On most shows there are two make up people.. But on Fame only has one. It makes for a nice homely atmosphere. They're a great bunch to work with. I feel like they're all my kids!"

After Fame continued working as a Make Up Artist in TV and Film, most notably on "The Twilight Zone", "Father Dowling Investigates", "Beauty and The Beast" and "In The Heat Of The Night".

After 2 seasons on "In The Heat Of The Night", Jack decided to retire in 1992.