Smith was born inLarchmont, New York, the son of Coral (née Brown) and Richard Roy Smith.[2] He attended theWooster School in Danbury, Connecticut andYale University, where he studied pre-med, with the intention of entering dentistry, although he majored in zoology.[3] After reading a book on theatrical make-up techniques[4] titledPaint, powder and make-up ; the art of theater make-up from the amateur and class room viewpoint (Strauss, Ivard),[5] he began applying make-up for the Yale drama group.[3] After graduation, Smith served in theU.S. Army duringWorld War II.[5]
Smith entered the field full-time after the war, and was entirely self-taught. He sent photographs of his work to the film industry, but his work was rejected until his father suggested he might try the emerging new medium of television.[6] He was appointed as the first make-up director ofWNBC (NBC's station in New York City), working there for fourteen years, often under producerDavid Susskind.[5] Smith pioneered the development ofprosthetic makeup, now better known as special make-up effects, from the basement of his home inLarchmont, New York, a district in which he lived through most of his life.[7] His colleagues though, he commented in a 2008 interview, "tended to be secretive. There was not at all that much make-up work in New York – and Hollywood might as well have been on another planet. They weren’t eager to share anything; and the union did its best to discourage whatever inclination there might have been."[4]
Prosthetic face masks were then normally made in one piece, but Smith made them in three foam latex pieces. Smith's technique allowed the actor to use their full range of facial expressions.[8] Despite initial criticism from many professional make-up artists at the time, Smith's make-up techniques proved to be superior. The now standard methods of applying prosthetics to faces are those that Smith invented, according to Smith's protégéRick Baker in a 2007 interview.[6]
For a television adaptation ofThe Moon and Sixpence (1959), Smith was required to turnLaurence Olivier into a leprosy victim: "When I finished the make-up, he looked in the mirror and said, 'Dick, it does the acting for me.' I've never forgotten his words."[6] Other early work by Smith was seen onWay Out (1961), a short-lived supernatural syndicated clone ofTwilight Zone, produced by Susskind in New York City, and hosted byRoald Dahl. Most memorable was a make-up of a man (Barry Morse) who had half of his face suddenly erased by a spilled vial of photo retouching fluid that affected real people when merely applied to their photos. In anotherWay Out episode, aHunchback of Notre-Dame make-up created by Smith becomes permanently affixed to an evil actor who then became his character and could never remove his make-up. Smith contributed to all 14Way Out episodes, and other 1960s television shows as well.
In 1965, Smith published an instructional book, titledDick Smith's Do-It-Yourself Monster Make-up Handbook, a special edition ofForrest J Ackerman'sFamous Monsters of Filmland magazine series.
In 1967, Smith provided special make-up for two episodes of thesupernaturalsoap operaDark Shadows; in the storyline,vampireBarnabas Collins (played byJonathan Frid)[9] was undergoing medical treatment to change him into a living human being. The experiment goes drastically wrong, and Barnabas ages rapidly, to the appearance of a man over 175 years old. Smith said that designing the make-up appliances forDark Shadows "turned out to be valuable preparation forLittle Big Man."[10]
In the filmLittle Big Man (1970), the 30-somethingDustin Hoffman played a man in extreme old age at several points in the film — similar, and with a very similar makeup design, to Smith's work making the 40-something actor Jonathan Frid look 175 years old in the filmHouse of Dark Shadows (MGM, also 1970).[n 1] "In the original book ofLittle Big Man, Dustin's character is 110," Smith observed, "but the directorArthur Penn just said out of the blue one day: 'Let's make him 121 instead'. I worked six weeks on the old age make-up, using photographic references for every wrinkle."[4] Smith also consulted Australian make-up artistRoy Ashton, having seen his work on the British horror filmThe Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959), in whichAnton Diffring was made to appear of extreme old age.[11]
Smith had to use other methods, as an alternative to prosthetics, to create an aged Don Corleone inThe Godfather (1972) becauseMarlon Brando was unwilling to have such appliances applied because of time considerations. Instead, Smith used stipple effects moving across the face from the actor's eyes.[12] A dental device called a "plumper" caused Brando's jowls to droop.[2] To depict the bleeding of characters after they had been shot, Smith said he "created the first ever bleeding special effects in this movie by creating bladders that were hidden under a foam latex forehead, with asquib that detonated the bladder, allowing blood to pour through a pre-arranged hole in the middle of the forehead."[4]
Smith was also one of the early pioneers of combining make-up with on-set "practical" special effects, beginning withThe Exorcist (1973).[13] Smith's expertise gained prominence and acclaim through the variety and ingenuity of his many effects forThe Exorcist.[14] "The Exorcist was really a turning point for make-up special effects," Rick Baker toldThe Washington Post in 2007. "Dick showed that makeup wasn't just about making people look scary or old, but had many applications. He figured out a way to make the welts swell up onLinda [Blair]'s stomach, to make her head spin around, and he created the vomit scenes."[6] For the head spinning effect, Smith created a mechanical dummy.[7]
Smith also created the make-up forRobert De Niro's Travis Bickle character inTaxi Driver (1976), as well as creating the effects for the blood-drenched finale.[15]
Smith andPaul LeBlanc won theAcademy Award for Best Makeup for their work onAmadeus (1984).[16] Once again, he had to age a leading actor in the film.[13] For the film he transformed the 44-year-oldF. Murray Abraham, asAntonio Salieri, into an elderly man.[9] "Once I looked into a mirror, at my face, I felt like it was completely convincing," Abraham once commented.[9] "Actors have to feel like they are the person they are portraying. I think my work has helped many to achieve that," Smith once said.[6]
Smith received a second Academy Award nomination for his work onDad (1989), for which he was required to ageJack Lemmon, then in his mid-60s, into an octogenarian.[8]
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