#MacabroCoven: Millicent Patrik, Monster Creator

By: Casandra Vicario

She appeared in 21 films over 20 years, between 1948 and 1968, acted in many television programs, was a character designer and illustrator, her name: Millicent Patrik.

Her name was Mildred Elizabeth Fulvia Di Rossi (some websites mention that she was an Italian baroness). Her father, Camille Charles Rossi, was an architect and engineer; his work took the family to the United States, where they lived in Texas, New York, and California.

Elizabeth worked as an animator for Disney in the late 1950s and became the first female animator hired by the studio.

Her beauty also made her stand out in the modeling world, but in 1948, wanting to leave modeling behind and try her luck in the seventh art, she changed her name to Millicent Patrick.

In 1952, on the set of “The World in this Arms” she met Bud Westmore, her makeup artist; during the conversation, Millicent mentioned that she also practiced the trade; Bud reviewed her work and hired her to join the makeup team at Universal Studios.

In addition to this job, Millicent continued acting. As a designer, she worked on the visual development of the aliens in the film “It Came From Outter Space” in 1953, as well as on the appearance of the character Mr Hyde in the film “Abbot and Costello Meet Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde”.

Then came 1954, and “El Monstruo de la Laguna Negra” (The Creature from the Black Lagoon), there is a lot of confusing information from that time about who designed what on the monster, between Millicent and Westmore, but to promote the film before its release, they went on a tour highlighting the role of Millicent in creating the monster, which they called “The Beauty Who Created the Beast.”

During the tour Millicent Patrick always emphasized Bud Westmore's role in designing the monster; however, by 1954, the media were already referring to Millicent as the designer of the famous character, and this filled Bud Westmore with rage, so he demanded the designer's head from Universal's executives, and they granted it.

Millicent Patrick disappeared from the film industry overnight; there are no records of her or of her work at other film studios, and now it is Bud Westmore who appears as the sole creator of the creature from the black lagoon…until now.

Patrick passed away in February 1998, and it was only last year that her name came to light again, and her story and importance within the horror genre are being made known so that she is never forgotten again.

Millicent Patrick is back, and we are here to remember her and give her the credit she deserves.