#dorothy ponedel

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The Clock (Vincente Minnelli & Fred Zinnemann, 1945).

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No Professional Background, No Problem By Constance Cherise

If you need a little extra inspiration in pursuing your own interests, creatively or otherwise—even if you don’t have the degrees or accolades that the powers that be say are a necessity—consider these behind-the-scenes individuals with no formal training, who left an indelible impact on Hollywood.

Walter Plunkett

Learning that the costume designer for SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN (‘52) had no formal training in his craft left me stunned. In the film, designer Walter Plunkett’s style runs the gamut, from 1920s fringed glamour to ornate 18th-century fashion. Throughout his career, the Oscar-winning Plunkett worked on more than 200 iconic films, including SHOWBOAT (‘51), LITTLE WOMEN (‘49) and the racially contentious epic GONE WITH THE WIND (‘40).

Plunkett originally studied to become a lawyer, however, his true interest favored the theatre. He graduated from UC Berkeley with the ambition of becoming an actor and after a short period in New York, he moved back to California. Eventually, Plunkett would work as an extra in Hollywood during the silent era. One day, a woman from the casting department at 20th Century-Fox, familiar with Plunkett's talent for sketching, requested he report to the women's wardrobe department. Twelve topless extras entered the room and Plunkett was assigned to strategically paint roses over their bare breasts.

"For three days, I diligently kept those flowers fresh...and that taught me there were other things to do in Hollywood...that you didn't have to be an actor," Plunkett later stated in an interview. He accepted a job as a designer with the Film Booking Offices of America (FBO), a small silent-era production company, and over the course of a few years he honed his craft, learning costume design on silent stars of the time. With the sound era, Plunkett became employed by RKO and went on to design for the likes of Ginger Rogers and Katharine Hepburn, before ultimately getting employment with the major studios of Hollywood.

Dorothy “Dottie” Ponedel

Due to a respiratory ailment in her early 20s, Dottie Ponedel moved from Illinois to California. While working in her family's bakery, she was recruited to become an extra in silent films, fearlessly taking on each role she was offered before becoming the go-to girl. Due to actress Nancy Caroll’s make-up application during the filming of the movie FOLLOW THRU (‘30), the production crew had difficulty completing a particular shot. Ponedel, who had a keen eye, made suggestions, correcting Carrolls make-up which allowed for continued filming. Impressed, Carroll requested Ponedel exclusively as a make-up consultant. When executives refused, Carroll purposely sabotaged her own make-up, essentially forcing the studio to honor her demand. Lacking the background and experience of her male counterparts, Ponedel studied the works of master artists as her education.

Known for sculpting the face with highlight and shadow, Ponedel became the first female make-up artist to be admitted to the Hollywood Make-Up Union. However, not only was she the make-up artist of icons, she also became their confidants. Ponedel worked with stars like Joan Blondell and Judy Garland in such films as MEET ME IN ST LOUIS (‘44), THE HARVEY GIRLS (‘46), and SUMMER STOCK (‘50). Female leads, Marlene Dietrich, Mae West and Carol Lombard rallied for Ponedel as she faced continued backlash from the all-male union.

Busby Berkeley

Known as one of the greatest choreographers of the movie musical, by definition Busby Berkeley was not a choreographer. In fact, Berkeley did not have a background in dance to speak of. However, he did possess a unique knack for patterns influenced by his duration in the army. He directed parades and staged camp shows for the soldiers. After WWI, Berkeley became a successful director on Broadway, collaborating with impresario Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. As expected, Hollywood came calling, and Berkeley began working with Warner Bros. According to Warner Archive “...in 1933 BB redefined Hollywood musicals forever with his eye-popping numbers for 42ND STREET (‘33),” which remains in present times a “...but you have to come back a star!” sensation.

To refer to Berkeley’s flamboyant productions as elaborate would be a harsh understatement. A more accurate description might be scantily-clad, fantasy-filled extravaganzas. While he did not invent the overhead shot, he did perfect it, at times cutting holes in the roof of the studio in order to achieve his desired kaleidoscopic effects. Berkeley would go on to create films for major studios including MGM, where he directed the Garland and Rooney “Backyard Musicals” as well as Esther Williams’ lavish water ballets in such films as TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME (’49).

During the late ‘50s, Berkeley would see a decline in his career. However, in the late 1960s, his films would see a resurgence, due to the psychedelic era. Berkeley’s influence can still be readily found today (such as BEAUTY AND THE BEAST’s [2017] “Be Our Guest” sequence), and in recent years, the “Human Waterfall” from the film FOOTLIGHT PARADE (‘33), was the opening feature to the collaboration between TCM and Disney's The Great Movie Ride, which was originally narrated by TCM’s own Robert Osborne.

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Judy Garland getting primped up by make-up artist and friend Dorothy Ponedel at MGM studios circa.1946

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Judy Garland with make up artist and close friend, Dorothy “Dottie” Ponedel, during filming of In The Good Old Summertime (1949)