Enrico A. Cortese

Enrico A. Cortese was among the first members of the Make-up Artists & Hair Stylists Union, IATSE, Local 798. In the early days of TV, he worked for the fledgling Dumont Network and later joined the staff of NBC-TV, where he was the original make-up artist for both "The Today Show" and "The Tonight Show," hosted by Steve Allen and later Jack Paar. He worked in groundbreaking TV, from news ("Meet the Press"); variety, ("The Perry Como Show"); comedy, (Milton Berle's "Texaco Star Theater," Sid Ceasar's "Your Show of Shows"), to live drama ("Playhouse 90," "Philco Theatre") and crime series (George C. Scott's "East Side West Side," "The Naked City"). He was lead make-up artist for "The Ed Sullivan Show" from 1961 to 1965. His work later led him to film and Broadway, and he was associated with many productions, including "The Godfather," "Funny Girl," "Trading Places," "Breaking Away," "Goodbye Columbus," "The Stepford Wives," and "The Swimmer," starring Burt Lancaster. Mr. Cortese also served as make-up artist at venues such as the Metropolitan Opera, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Lincoln Center, Shakespeare in the Park, Carnegie Hall, Radio City, and Circle in the Square Theatre. He was President and Mrs. Reagan's make-up artist for White House special events, and Frank Sinatra's personal make-up artist until his retirement. Later in his career, he taught at the Juilliard School's Theatre Department and was a spokesperson for Clairol Cosmetics.