Dan Striepeke
Make-Up Artist Journeyman
(1930-2019)

Born on Oct. 8, 1930, and raised in Santa Rosa, California, Journeyman Make Up Artist Daniel Striepeke came to Los Angeles when he was 19 and landed a job at the fledgling TV station KTTV. After enlisting in the U.S. Air Force and serving for four years, he returned to work at KTTV. He joined Local 706 in 1955, became a Journeyman in 1957 and in his own words: "My resume tells the rest." He served as President and Vice President of Local 706, was an educator and was the Makeup Department Head for 20thCentury Fox in the 1960’s.  

Dan Striepeke amassed over 100 credits, and worked with Elvis, Tony Curtis, Yul Brenner, and ultimately 19 years with Tom Hanks. Credits include The Magnificent Seven, Viva Las Vegas, Pennies from Heaven, The Deer Hunter, Grease, My Favorite Year, American Gigolo, Saving Private Ryan and Castaway.  As the Make-up Department Head of 20thCentury Fox he oversaw Patton, MASH, Hello Dolly!, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and selflessly made sure that John Chambers received due credit – and an Oscar - for Planet of the Apes (1968). Brother Striepeke mentored our Members in the Apprentice Program, tutoring Leonard Engelman and many others.  Always an innovator, he was responsible for working with Visual FX to establish the motion capture dots on The Polar Express- and solidified make-up artists as the only craft allowed to apply them.

Dan Striepeke’s work took him all over the world, and earned him two Oscar nominations, two Emmy nominations, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from our own Make-up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild; he also served a term as Chairman of the Make-up and Hairstyling branch of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences.  His work did not stop with being a make-up artist; he wrote the screenplay and produced the 1973 horror film Ssssssalong with John Chambers and Nick Marcellino

Brother Striepeke was memorialized on the occasion of his retirement in 2006 by Tom Hanks in a NY Times essay The Man Who Aged Me:

 "Most civilians—people who don’t make movies for a living—think make-up men are little more than hovering sprites who powder noses. But they are true artists, often unsung, who imprint films with the soft touch of their brushes and the hard work of their craft. Their creation, which will be examined on the big screen for as many years as the film holds its audience, is the physical manifestation of an actor’s interpretation of his role…  Danny protected the exterior finish of my characters so I could ponder my roles without having to explain things that can’t be explained anyway."

What a loss, both to our Local 706 family, and the Striepeke family; Dan is survived by his wife Sherry Sexton and his sons Christopher and Dean.

Funeral Services:
Tuesday, Jan 29th
Doors open 12 noon
Service is 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
Church of the Hills,
Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills,
6300 Forest Lawn Dr. LA 90068.