27 Years Ago, It Began

On November 18th, 1990, ABC aired IT, a TV mini-series based on Stephen King's iconic novel about a group of friends trying to defeat a murderous supernatural being who takes the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown and it instantly changed horror history. Tim Curry's performance as Pennywise is regarded as one of the most iconic horror villains of all time and one of the key hands in creating that character was makeup FX designer Bart J. Mixon.

AM: How did you get attached to IT? What attracted you to the project? Were you a fan of Stephen King?

Bart J. Mixon: Gene Warren Jr. had asked me to set up a “creature shop” at Fantasy II Film Effects in 1987 for the Tommy Lee Wallace sequel, FRIGHT NIGHT PART TWO. Since the three of us worked well together on that project, it made sense to continue that on STEPHEN KING’S IT. Obviously in 1990 everyone knew who King was, but I had only read a few of his books and IT was not one of them. My brother, Bret, is a huge King fan and had told me about the book as he was reading it so when the project came into Fantasy II I knew what it was about to some degree. It was attractive on several levels - from the variety of monsters IT would become to terrorize the kids, to getting to create a memorable villain, and also just from the aspect of heading up another project as a creature effects creator.

AM: Could you talk about the design process of coming up with Pennywise’s look?

Bart J. Mixon: It was pretty straight forward. I got the script when it was in a three part format and did my first breakdowns from that. I did do some research into clowns and read the section of the novel that described Pennywise as well as the information presented in the script. I attempted a few Pennywise designs but found this was pretty pointless without having an actor to design it for. Once Tim Curry was cast I worked over a head shot and did about half a dozen design sketches which I sent to Wallace. Based upon his reactions, I did three clay sketches over our life cast of Tim and painted and photographed those and sent those images to Wallace. He selected the one he liked and I re-sculpted it as a prosthetic make-up. At this time this consisted of the domed head, the upturned nose, and cheeks and a chin - the entire look being loosely inspired by Lon Chaney’s PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.

AM: When you finally got Tim Curry, was there anything that he had to say about how he wanted Pennywise to look?

Bart J. Mixon: Tim did not have too many requests as I recall. I think our concepts of what Pennywise was differed a little. He had said he did not mind if the flaws in the make-up showed, but I felt that since this was an illusion that IT was projecting to the kids there would be no flaws as IT would be trying to be as appealing as possible. I saw Pennywise almost like a live action cartoon. Tim did not want to wear anymore prosthetics then necessary and did question why some things were being done - like my using a foam latex domed head rather than just a latex bald cap. I told him I needed the thickness to help hid the rigging for when he gets shot in the head by the sling shot, so he was fine with that.

AM: How many iterations and test did you have to go through to get to the final approved makeup?

Bart J. Mixon: Once the approved look was produced as prosthetics we did ONE make-up test day where we tested TWO

looks. Tommy and Tim were not sure if the cheeks and chin were necessary, so we first tested just the domed head and nose. I was using PAX paint for the white make-up so I knew I could glue the other pieces over this with out any trouble. Tim had some thoughts as to the face paint so this test reflected those ideas. Once we filmed this look I took Tim back and applied the cheeks and chin and did a rushed face paint closer to what I had wanted - blue eye sockets and a larger red mouth - details that were intended to give him a subtle skull like look. This was then photographed but it was decided that the extra pieces were not really needed. We did one more pass to iron out the face paint and that was that. The red wig was always the same.

AM: How long did it take to apply Tim’s makeup?

Bart J. Mixon: It seem like all my make-ups were taking about three hours to apply back then. While I do not recall for sure, I would say between two and three hours. I was assisted on set by local Vancouver make-up artist Joanne Smith with all the make-up applications.

AM: I heard things about the crazy red hair is Tim’s, is it true or not?

Bart J. Mixon: That has got the be the stupidest rumor I have ever heard about this show. Tim wore a foam latex bald head almost an inch thick so there was NO WAY that could be his own hair. I had three wigs custom made by Jack Bricker and shortly after the show wrapped the TV series IN LIVING COLOR called to see if they could buy them for Homme the Clown - but I declined to sell them.

AM: Pennywise’s eyes change from Tim’s natural eyes to these demonic looking eyes, could you talk about the contacts? Were they sclera or corneal contacts?

Bart J. Mixon: Those were corneal lenses. At one time I had wanted to give him blue contacts to make his eyes a cartoonish shade of blue, but that was not done.

AM: Originally you wanted him to be a decomposed clown in the adult segment of the miniseries, can you explain how that never came to be?

Bart J. Mixon: When I first read the script hit upon the concept of having two looks for Pennywise - the “nice” look that would lure the kids to him, and the “horror” versions which I wanted the adults to see him as since they knew he was not really a clown but a horrible monster.

I wanted the nice version to be like a living cartoon - very clean and pure colors - a pure white with primary blues and reds. I even considered using pure white false teeth and solid blue contacts to enhance the cartoon look. The adults, now knowing this was just an illusion, would see Pennywise as a horrific version of this clown - a rotted skull like face, patchy hair, nasty eyes and teeth, etc. - almost like Pennywise was mocking them for every thinking he was really a clown. Tommy did not see it this way and felt there might be scheduling conflicts should we need to shoot both looks in the same day - but there were not any such conflicts in our shooting schedule. So it just came down to a difference of vision.

Since the horror look was not to be used, I borrowed elements of it for the “Battery Acid” look. This look used the domed head along with a three part full face prosthetics. Since this was created during prep the exaggerated forms on the disfigured side of the face were meant to echo the face paint on the clean side of the face but those patterns changed and the cheek and chin were dropped, but they are present in this look.

We did not have time to shoot the “Battery Acid” look on location as it was a lengthy change over, so we picked that up in post at Fantasy II. By that time, the production was prepared to NOT use this look but Tim had seen the prosthetics and thought it was a shame not to use them, so he agreed to wear them for those shots if they could be completed in one day - which they were. I am forever grateful to Tim for going to bat for me with that look, otherwise it would not have been in the film.

We also had to create a stop motion puppet of Pennywise for this sequence and it was sculpted with the normal face since the disfigured face was not going to be used. The day I molded the front half of the puppet the decision was made to USE the Battery Acid look, so I had to create a 1/6 scale face appliance for the puppet to change its look.

AM: What was it like working with Tim?

Bart J. Mixon: Tim was great to work with. A true pro, a very nice guy. While we were filming IT he mentioned he was doing a John Landis film next and since I was a fan he invited me down to the set. I wish I had made more of an effort to keep in touch with him after that.

AM: Could you talk about Pennywise’s other forms, the werewolf and the spider at the end?

Bart J. Mixon: My team and I were responsible for all the forms IT takes in the film - the werewolf, the mummy, the Al Marsh corpse, Ben’s dead father, Stan’s head, and the Spider - every thing but the fortune cookies and the dog [which I don’t think really worked]. The Werewolf was a mask and gloves designed to be put on and off quickly on set. We only supplied the head for the

Mummy with costumes doing the wrap. Al Marsh was a multi-piece zombie make-up with face, hands and teeth. Ben’s dad was a puppet with limited radio control options. For Stan we did a fake head as well as a neck appliance for the hero shots. We also built about six bodies seen in the Spider’s cave.

The Spider was our biggest challenge and took all of our four weeks of prep and the eight weeks of shooting to build - we shot it during the last two days of the shoot. I remember my brother being disappointed at the end of the novel when it was revealed to be just a spider - so I was trying to avoid this reaction with our spider. I never took this to be IT’s true form, just a last attempt to be really scary to these characters who were on to IT’s tricks. I wanted something Spider-LIKE, but not just a spider. I think we came up with something unique and wish it had been used to its full potential - it did considerably more than you see on screen.

AM: I recall Tim and the director being dissatisfied with the way the film ended, do you share any similar thoughts?

Bart J. Mixon: I guess the problem with the end was the lack of Tim/Pennywise. In all the other encounters with IT, we see the monster version first and then Pennywise appears after to drive the scene home. I think we built a great Spider but there is no way it was going to give the performance of a Tim Curry. Perhaps after Beverly wounds the Spider with the sling shot and it lumbers away, when the heroes catch up with IT if IT had turned back into Pennywise they could have ended the scene by taking out their aggression on him - but I don’t know if 1990’s TV would have allowed three adults to beat the crap out of a clown, much less rip out his heart!

AM: Who were your crew on this project?

Bart J. Mixon: I had a great crew on IT. I sculpted the Pennywise make-up. Brent Baker molded it and played the Spider. Jim McLoughlin did the Stan head, the mummy, and Ben’s father’s corpse. Norman Cabrera did the werewolf and Al Marsh. Joey Orosco designed the Spider and built it along with Aaron Sims.

AM: What do you think of ADI’s version of Pennywise in this new remake?

Bart J. Mixon: I like what they did with IT. He might be a bit too creepy looking to believe a kid would ever approach him but he works well within the film. It’s almost like they got to do some of the things I could not do with my horror version of Pennywise.

AM: Have they ever contacted you about being a part of this new film?

Bart J. Mixon: ADI never did, but I was contacted by the guys who were doing the previous version that was to be directed by Cary Fukunaga and was a week away from traveling to location for that version in 2015 when it was canceled. I did get to apply the new Pennywise with Chris Nelson for a VR promo that was created for IT to be shown at Comic Con and other places.

AM: Have you’ve seen the film and what are your thoughts on it?

Bart J. Mixon: I have and I liked it over all. In a way I am a little envious in that after the second film they will have had a total of 4.5 hours to tell the story we had just over 3 hours to tell. They are not restricted by 1990’s t.v. censorship and have the freedom of being an R rated movie to push the horror elements to the max. I would have loved to have been able to bite Georgie’s arm off! I think there are a few scenes our version handled better but all in all I thought it was very good and I look forward to seeing part two - I want to see what they do with the Spider fighting the Turtle in outer space.

AM: Even though it’s been 27 years since the original and this new remake is making big money, many people still revert to the original. What do you think is the major appeal of the original IT?

Bart J. Mixon: A combination of elements, certainly the original King novel has a lot to do with it and I think Tommy was able to tap into a nice STAND BY ME type vibe with it. But above all it has to be Tim Curry as Pennywise that sets it apart - Tim is the best!

AM: Was there any highlights and lowlights that you would like to share?

Bart J. Mixon: Nothing leaps to mind. IT was a great experience to have been a part of and Pennywise has become an iconic character that I created - so that’s nice to have ONE such make-up and character on your resume. It was a very rushed schedule and a lot of hard work, but well worth IT to be sure!

AM: If you could go back and redo anything, what would it be?

Bart J. Mixon: I still think the concept of there being two versions of Pennywise - the nice one for the kids and the horrific one for the adults - is a valid one and I do wish I could have convinced Tommy Wallace to see it my way. I did mention this idea to Andy Muschietti a few months ago, so maybe it will find its way into part two of the new IT.

When it's a dark and haunting night, check out this cult classic and enjoy the magic that this Tim Curry.