Monte was a member of the
Westmore family and the oldest of
George Westmore's six sons. His brothers were
Perc,
Ern,
Wally,
Bud and
Frank, who all went on to work in makeup departments in Hollywood based studios. The family would gain a combined star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2008. He worked on
The Sheik (1921) and convinced actor
Rudolph Valentino to allow him to do his makeup creating the clean Latin look in the process. His work on
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) led to him being hired as the head of the makeup department at
Selznick International Pictures. He also worked at the Oddie Beauty Salon, where he coached Constance Nichols who went on to become the personal hairstylist for several Hollywood actors and actresses.
Mutiny on the Bounty resulted in Monte being the head of the makeup department for
Gone with the Wind (1939),
Intermezzo (1939) and
Rebecca (1940). He personally did the makeup for
Scarlett O'Hara in the screentests for
Gone with the Wind and also oversaw the makeup on the extras seen in the film. He did not receive any screen credit for his work on the film, as makeup artists were not regularly given such credit until the following decade. Monte had three sons, including
Michael Westmore, who won an
Oscar for
Best Makeup for the film
Mask (1985), and nine
Emmy Awards. His son
Monty Westmore was also nominated for both an Academy Award and Emmy Award. His third son was
Marvin Westmore, the founder and CEO of the George Westmore Research Library & Museum. ==Partial filmography==