Milicent Patrick is a name that could have been potentially lost to history. An actress/animator/makeup artist, she is best known as one of the key designers of The Gill Man, the iconic murderous marine monster featured in Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954). She might never have been acknowledged for her work at all though...

Born in 1915 as Mildred Elizabeth Fulvia di Rossi in El Paso Texas. Her early life was spent studying and practicing art. At the age of six she was  living on the grounds of Hearst Castle where her father was hired as Construction Superintendent for William Randolph Hearst’s sprawling Californian Estate. Copying the name of Hearst's wife... Mildred became Milicent.

 In 1939 she joined Disney, in their all female ink and paint department which was actually a separate building reserved for the women at Disney studios. She was eventually moved to the animation department where she became one of the first female animators. Working on classics like Fantasia (1940) in which she contributed to the terrifying Demon, Cheranbog, featured in the 'Night on Bald Mountain' sequence. As well as the Flying Elephant classic Dumbo (1941).

 After leaving Disney, Milicent continued an affair, begun with a fellow Disney animator Paul Fitzpatrick. When Fitzpatrick's wife found out about it, she tragically killed herself and their unborn child. Milicent and Paul Fitzpatrick married but it didn’t last long, after a few years they divorced. It was  during this time she adopted the name Mil Patrick eventually tweaking it to Milicent Patrick.

 Millicent was signed by a talent agent after meeting Producer William Hawks (brother of Howard) at a party.  Represented  for small acting gigs here and there. Her striking looks helped her stand out from the crowd of eager young women seeking fame in Hollywood. 

During this time she met a voice actor named Frank L. Graham, they had a relationship but after it ended, Graham committed suicide, with a picture of Milicent by his side and a note which mentioned her.

 Eventually she was hired at Universal Studios by Bud Westmore who was in charge of the makeup department. Westmore, worked on over five hundred projects for film and television. His father George Westmore founded the first movie makeup department in 1917 and the Westmore family name continues to be revered in Hollywood to this day.

 So Milicent began her work in special effects. Contributing to, It Came From Outer Space (1953), Abbott and Costello Meet Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1953), This Island Earth (1955) and making masks for The Mole People (1956).

It was her work on Jack Arnold's aquatic monster hit, Creature From The Black Lagoon though, that started to get her recognition at Universal. Adding a feminine touch to the design of the strange looking fish man, the Creature weirdly seemed to gain a certain sex appeal. Earlier designs of the Gill Man show a cone headed, bulbous eyed, looking monster which was more alien in style. Undeniably Milicents contribution to the look of the creature was a massive part of the success of the feature. Milicent was sent on the road by Universal for a promotional tour of the movie. Dubbed The Beauty Who Created the Beast, Milicent’s talents were attracting attention. Apparently this was not appreciated by Bud Westmore who as the story goes , demanded the promotional tour’s name be changed to ‘The Beauty Who Lived With The Beast’ and that Milicent take no credit for the design of the Creature.

 As is the case with movies back in those days it was common for the head of a department to take full credit for the work. Even going as far to pose for publicity photos with work they may not have contributed to at all. This meant many unsung heroes saw their hard graft credited often, to just one individual. For instance the actual sculptors of the Gil Man were two gentlemen named Chris Mueller Jr and Jack Kevan who worked alongside others in the Universal Creature shop. Neither of their names made it to the credits of Creature From The Black Lagoon. Of course Westmore would of had the last say but even before he signed off, the producers and director would have all been involved in the final design.

 There is probably nobody alive who can tell us what happened next but Creature From The Black Lagoon was the last Hollywood project Milicent Patrick worked on. Bud Westmore fired Milicent from Universal and she all but retired from the industry. Though Universal had lauded her as the poster girl with the talented eye who designed the  Creature her name, like the sculptors is nowhere in sight when the credits start to roll.

  Milicent Patrick did contribute some valuable stylistic choices to the Creature design but important to remember she was one of many who worked on bringing the legendary monster to the big screen.

In the 70’s our very own Forrest J Ackerman (who knew Milicent) decided to highlight her and credit her as the designer of the Gil Man in an eight page article posted in your favorite magazine. To credit everyone who took part in bringing the Creature to life, would be all but impossible without the use of  a time machine.

Milicent Patrick passed away in 1998 after battling Parkinson's disease and breast cancer. Luckily for us, all these years later we can recognize Milicent and acknowledge the forgotten and unnamed who brought their talents to the movies we still love so much.