{{Short description|American artist and visual effects creator (1927–1983)}} {{Infobox person | name = Paul Blaisdell | image = Paul Blaisdell.jpg | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1927|7|21}} | birth_place = [[Newport, Rhode Island]], U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1983|07|10|1927|07|21}} | death_place = [[Topanga, California]], U.S. | restingplace = | restingplacecoordinates = | other_names = | occupation = Visual effects creator, actor | years_active = 1955–1959 | spouse = Jackie Blaisdell | partner = | children = | parents = | website = | awards = }} '''Paul Blaisdell''' (July 21, 1927 – July 10, 1983) was an American painter, sculptor and visual effects creator, best remembered for his work in [[science fiction]] and horror [[B movie]]s of the [[1950s in film|1950s]].
== Life and career == Blaisdell was born in [[Newport, Rhode Island]] in 1927, and grew up in [[Quincy, Massachusetts]]. He sketched and built models since early childhood, and he attended the [[New England School of Art and Design]] in [[Boston]]. Following graduation, he married Jackie and they moved to California, where he worked for [[Douglas Aircraft]]; on the side, he drew artwork for science fiction magazines, and met literary agent - and founding creative director/editor of the long-running monster magazine ''[[Famous Monsters of Filmland]]'' - [[Forrest J Ackerman]], who became his agent.
In 1955, Blaisdell was hired to create the creature effects for [[Roger Corman]]'s low-budget film ''[[The Beast with a Million Eyes]]'', after which he spent several years designing monsters for B movies, earning a reputation for working quickly and cheaply. He often played the title creature on screen. Ackerman ran a feature article on Blaisdell in issue #1 of "Famous Monsters", but after Blaisdell had a major disagreement with the magazine's publisher [[James Warren (publisher)|James Warren]], Ackerman was told not to promote Blaisdell in any future issues.
After a few years, Blaisdell became disenchanted with the business. Most of the costumes and props he created were allowed to decay in the 1950s due to poor storage conditions. Forrest J. Ackerman had the monster prop from ''Beast With a Million Eyes'' stored in direct sunlight in his home until it dried up and fell apart. The three-eyed mutant costume from ''Day the World Ended'' (nicknamed 'Marty') was destroyed multiple times by fans stealing scales for souveniers, while on loan for promotional display in cinemas; it was lost after shipping to Hong Kong for another such press tour. The masks for ''Cat Girl'', ''Saucer Men'' and ''It Conquered the World'' were all destroyed in the flaming finale of ''How to Make a Monster''. The only costume that survived until 1959 was his ''She-Creature'' suit, before AIP forced him to alter the costume so it could be re-used in 1959's ''[[Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow]]'', to the point where he felt it just wasn't the same costume any more - the female breasts were removed among other things. What was left of it was destroyed in a flood that hit Paul Blaisdell's house in 1979.<ref>Palmer, Randy (2009). Paul Blaisdell, Monster Maker: A Biography of the B Movie Makeup and Special Effects Artist. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0786440993.</ref>
In the early 1960s, Blaisdell submitted monster designs for projected films including ''Goliath and the Dragon'' (1960) and ''Jack the Giant Killer'' (1962), but they weren't used, although he was still paid for his time. Producer James Nicholson tried to involve Blaisdell in two planned AIP TV series (''Beyond the Barriers of Space'' and ''Out of This World''), but the shows were never made.<ref>Palmer, Randy (2009). Paul Blaisdell, Monster Maker: A Biography of the B Movie Makeup and Special Effects Artist. McFarland & Company. p. 137. ISBN 978-0786440993.</ref>
In the 1960s Blaisdell, together with film editor/archivist/actor [[Bob Burns III]], formed the company Black Shield to publish the "Famous Monsters"-inspired magazine ''Fantastic Monsters Of The Films'' for seven issues during 1962-63, for which [[Jim Harmon]] and [[Ron Haydock]] edited and wrote text.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fantastic-monsters-of-the-films-complete-collection-bob-burns/1133508693 | title=Fantastic Monsters of the Films Complete Collection|Hardcover }}</ref> He gave up on the magazine when the plates for the eighth issue were destroyed in a fire at his printers. He later learned that the printer purposely burned his shop to fraudulently collect insurance. A large part of Bob Burns' still and lobby card collection went up in the flames. Blaisdell quit all involvement in the movie industry to work as a [[carpenter]] instead, and became something of a hermit. In 1965, he inherited property from his mother which he rented out to supplement his income. He and Bob Burns III (died December, 2025) remained best friends all their lives.
In 1979, ''[[Fangoria Magazine]]'' ran a two-part interview with him, followed by a retrospective in ''Cinefantastique''. Filmmaker [[Fred Olen Ray]] tried to hire Blaisdell to work on the effects in his 1979 film ''[[Alien Dead]]'', but Blaisdell was too ill to work.
Blaisdell suffered severe dental problems in later life and died of [[cancer]] at the age of 55 in Topanga, California in 1983, around the time that the home video market of the 1980s was beginning to resurrect fan interest in his 1950s films. Not one Hollywood newspaper ran his obituary.<ref>[http://www.tor.com/blogs/2011/10/the-strange-creature-of-topanga-canyon-paul-blaisdell-his-life-and-times The Strange Creature of Topanga Canyon: Paul Blaisdell, His Life and Times] (Tor.com, 2011)</ref>
Billikin model kit company put out several kits in the late 1980s based on Blaisdell's creature creations, including the monsters from ''It Conquered the World'', ''The She-Creature'', and ''Invasion of the Saucer Men''. Later, a rival company produced a model kit based on the mutant in ''Day the World Ended''. AIP's [[Sam Arkoff]] received a share of profit made on these kits, but Blaisdell's widow received nothing.<ref>Palmer, Randy (2009). Paul Blaisdell, Monster Maker: A Biography of the B Movie Makeup and Special Effects Artist. McFarland & Company. p. 259. ISBN 978-0786440993.</ref>
== Filmography == === Effects === (Unless noted, Blaisdell created the monster costume in each film) * ''[[The Beast with a Million Eyes]]'' (1955) * ''[[Day the World Ended]]'' (1955) * ''[[It Conquered the World]]'' (1956, uncredited) (Blaisdell nicknamed the monster "Beulah" <ref>Palmer, Randy (2009). Paul Blaisdell, Monster Maker: A Biography of the B Movie Makeup and Special Effects Artist. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0786440993.</ref>) * ''[[The She-Creature]]'' (1956, uncredited)(Blaisdell nicknamed the monster "Cuddles"<ref>Palmer, Randy (2009). Paul Blaisdell, ''Monster Maker: A Biography of the B Movie Makeup and Special Effects Artist''. McFarland & Company. {{ISBN|978-0786440993}}.</ref>) * ''[[Voodoo Woman]]'' (1957, uncredited) (costume from ''She-Creature'' re-used) * ''[[Not of This Earth (1957 film)|Not of This Earth]]'' (1957, uncredited) * ''[[The Amazing Colossal Man]]'' (1957) (created the tiny-sized props) * ''[[Cat Girl]]'' (1957, uncredited) (created the Cat Girl mask used only in the U.S. prints) * ''[[From Hell It Came]]'' (1957, uncredited) * ''[[Monster from Green Hell]]'' (1957) (submitted monster sketches, but was not hired to create the monster suit) * ''[[Invasion of the Saucer Men]]'' (1957) * ''[[Attack of the Puppet People]]'' (1958, uncredited) (created the giant-sized props & Mr. Hyde marionette costume)<ref>{{cite book|first1=Bill |last1=Warren|first2=Bill |last2=Thomas|title=Keep Watching the Skies!: American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties, The 21st Century Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0r8UCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA80 |date=16 November 2009|publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-4230-0|pages=80–82}}</ref> * ''[[War of the Colossal Beast]]'' (1958) (tiny-sized props from ''Amazing Colossal Man'' re-used) * ''[[Earth vs. the Spider]]'' (1958) aka ''The Spider'' (designed the two corpses and the giant spider leg) * ''[[How to Make a Monster (1958 film)]]'' (1958) (masks from ''She-Creature'', ''Cat Girl'', ''It Conquered the World'' and ''Saucer Men'' re-used) * ''[[It! The Terror from Beyond Space]]'' (1958) * ''[[Teenagers from Outer Space (film)|Teenagers from Outer Space]]'' (released in 1959) (designed the ray guns and the film's poster) * ''[[Invisible Invaders]]'' (1959) (costume from "It!" re-used) * ''[[Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow|The Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow]]'' (1959) (costume from ''She-Creature'' re-used)
=== Acting === * ''[[Day the World Ended]]'' (1955) Blaisdell played the creature * ''[[Oklahoma Woman]]'' (1956) played one of Peggy Castle's henchmen * ''[[Hot Rod Girl]]'' (1956) cameo, played the near-miss victim * ''[[It Conquered the World]]'' (1956) played the creature * ''[[The She-Creature]]'' (1956) played the creature * ''[[Voodoo Woman]]'' (1957) played the creature as well as a drunk in the bar scene * ''[[The Undead (film)|The Undead]]'' (1957) played a corpse in a coffin * ''[[Dragstrip Girl (1957 film)|Dragstrip Girl]]'' (1957) cameo * ''[[Sorority Girl]]'' (1957) cameo * ''[[Motorcycle Gang (film)|Motorcycle Gang]]'' (1957) cameo * ''[[Invasion of the Saucer Men]]'' (1957) played one of the aliens * ''[[Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow|The Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow]]'' (1959) (played the monster and "himself")
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|0086428}} *{{isfdb name |27847}} *[https://ourculturemag.com/2017/09/02/tribute-paul-blaisdell/ A Tribute to Paul Blaisdell]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Blaisdell, Paul}} [[Category:1927 births]] [[Category:1983 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century American designers]] [[Category:20th-century American painters]] [[Category:20th-century American sculptors]] [[Category:20th-century people from Rhode Island]] [[Category:American special effects people]] [[Category:Artists from Newport, Rhode Island]] [[Category:People from Topanga, California]] [[Category:Deaths from cancer in California]]