PAMUSE
Guest Instructors
We are excited to welcome guest make up artists to The Philadelphia Academy for Make Up and Special Effects.  Look for dates in our Spring-Summer schedule.
 

Fred Blau with EmmyFred C. Blau began his career in 1964 as an apprentice to Gordon and George Bau at Warner Bros. Studios. During that period not only was he being trained to be a motion picture make-up artist but was also involved with formulating cosmetics and rubber appliances. His first assignments as a make-up artist were "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe", "Cool Hand Luke" and "The Illustrated Man".

Some of the projects he has worked on during his make-up career of some 40 years (short list) are "Apocalypse Now", Kate Jackson in "Charlie's Angels", "Scarecrow and Mrs. King", "Beauty and the Beast", Roddy McDowell in "The Planet of the Apes" TV series, "Adams Family Values", "Con Air", "Armageddon", "The Grinch" and the most recent "Planet of the Apes".

He, along with department head Kevin Haney, received a British Academy of Film and Television Arts nomination for best make-up for the film "Adams Family Values". He was also nominated for five Emmy Awards for "Fall From Grace" with Kevin Spacey and Bernadette Peters, "Burning Bed" with Farrah Fawcette, two "Beauty and the Beast" episodes with Linda Hamilton and Steven Spielberg's "Amazing Stories" for which he won his Emmy.

Blau is a member of and serves on the board of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and is a member of the Television Academy of Arts and Sciences.



Robert Withers was born in 1927 in Los Angeles, California. At an early age he exhibited an unusual interest in drawing ships, locomotives, airplanes and such. His interest in things mechanical led to a career in engineering, from which he retired in 1989. His love of drawing led to his taking up oil painting in 1945 while recuperating at Bethesda Naval Hospital. He pursued painting off and on over the years. Some art instruction was provided by his uncle, Ted Withers, a professional artist, and painting classes at the Flemish Art Studio in North Hollywood.

In 1993 Withers decided to make painting his second career. Seeking further instruction he attended Albright College in 1993 and then the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) from 1994 through 2001.

Withers has exhibited paintings at nine PAFA student exhibitions, the 23rd Daylesford Abbey Show, three Chester Springs Studio Shows, several Wayne Art Center Juried Art Exhibitions, and the 101st PAFA Fellowship Exhibition.

In addition, his work has been displayed and sold by Gallery 20, Reading, the Windy Bush Gallery, New Hope, and the White Swan Gallery, Elverson, Pennsylvania.


Shannon Thompson began her career in make-up at the age of 16. As the daughter of a funeral director, she gained experience doing make-up for both the living and the dead. This work exposed her to traditional make-up application as well as special effects.


Shannon attended Howard University in Washington DC where she received a degree in Make-Up. She received two Owen Dodsen Awards for her work in make-up as well as the honor of Make-Up Artist of the Year in 2007 by The Make-Up Artist Association. Shannon's expertise spans from theatre, film, runway, and music to political figures. Over her career she has worked on 20 films, toured with Boyz II Men and worked on Keyshia Cole, Bill Cosby, Phylisha Rashad, Jefferey Wright, President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Bill Clinton.

 

"We dirty our faces on purpose to make some one look beautiful or different, but when it's all said and done you can wash it off at the end of the day."

– Shannon Thompson