Van Smith

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Van Smith
Born	August 17, 1945 Marianna, Florida
Died	December 5, 2006 Marianna, Florida
Nationality	American
Other names	Walter Avant Smith, Jr
Occupation	Costume designer Makeup artist

Van Smith (born Walter Avant Smith Jr., August 17, 1945 in Marianna, Florida - December 5, 2006 Marianna, Florida) was an American costume designer and make-up artist. He worked primarily in the films of John Waters, designing the costumes and make-up for every John Waters film from 1972 to 2004.

The first John Waters film Smith worked on was Pink Flamingos (1972), for which he designed the costumes and make-up for the film's star, female-impersonating actor Divine, as well as the rest of the cast. In this film Smith, along with Waters, created the famous look for Divine which included a white clown face bas and a shaved-back hairline with the eyebrows drawn on the upper forehead. Waters said he wanted Divine's make-up to look like a cross between Jayne Mansfield and Clarabell the Clown^{[citation needed]}.

This was followed by Smith's work on Female Trouble (1974), which featured a cast of flamboyant criminals and hairdressers whose costumes are overtly tacky and whose make-up is extreme. For Divine's wedding scene in the film, Smith designed a see-through wedding dress for the 300 lb. bride.

Smith went on to create the look for the hideous citizens of Mortville in Desperate Living (1977). In Waters' next seven films, Smith demonstrated the ability to create interesting looks for characters with big personalities but more conventional appearances as Waters' movies became more mainstream.

Smith died of a heart attack in Marianna, Florida on December 5, 2006.^[1]

Contents 1 Filmography 1.1 Make-up and costume design 1.2 As himself 1.3 Other 2 References

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Make-up and costume design

• Pink Flamingos (1972)
• Female Trouble (1974)
• Desperate Living (1977)
• Polyester (1981)
• Hairspray (1988)
• Cry-Baby (1990)
• Serial Mom (1994)
• Pecker (1998)
• Cecil B. Demented (2000)
• A Dirty Shame (2004)

[edit] As himself

• Divine Trash (1998)
• It Came from Baltimore (2005) (Video)
• All the Dirt on A Dirty Shame (2005) (Video)

[edit] Other

• Pink Flamingos (1972) Birthday party guest in drag
• Homicide: Life on the Street (2 episodes, 1993)

[edit] References

1. Van Smith on IMDb
2. Dreamland Studios
3. http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/f/margalit_fox/index.html?inline=nyt-per

Persondata
NAME	Smith, Van
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Walter Avant Smith Jr.
SHORT DESCRIPTION	American costume designer for film
DATE OF BIRTH	August 17, 1945
PLACE OF BIRTH	Marianna, Florida
DATE OF DEATH	December 5, 2006
PLACE OF DEATH	Marianna, Florida