Jack Stein Collection

Collection

Identifier: MSS 015

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Jack Stein Collection contains a wide variety of materials ranging from photographs of television studios and movie sets to items of makeup developed by Stein's brand. Spanning nearly a century, the collection covers many aspects of Stein's career at Emerson College including photos and programs of stage productions and materials from the classes he instructed in the Drama Department. Stein worked in various studios around New England and the Boston area and the collection contains several items detailing his work with in the media and entertainment industry and with various political figures.

Dates

1926-1992

Creator

Stein, Jack, 1919-2000 (Person)

Language of Materials

Records in English.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open to researchers. No materials may be checked out or borrowed from the Emerson College Archives & Special Collections.

Conditions Governing Use

Some materials may be subject to copyright. No part of the materials protected by copyright may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the copyright holder. Researchers are required to seek permission from the copyright holder to reproduce and/or publish materials under copyright.

Any photographs published from the collection will carry the credit line: Courtesy Jack Stein Collection.

Biographical / Historical

Jacob "Jack" Stein, makeup artist for the stars, had quite a successful career as one of the most well-known makeup professionals in New England. His career in the theater began at a young age when he worked in a small theater. Always more fascinated with what went on behind the scenes than performing on stage, Stein decided that is where his passion lay. In 1945 around the age of 26 he opened the Jack Stein Makeup Center in Boston, Massachusetts. Stein also began teaching classes in the Drama department at Emerson College. He would go on to receive an honorary degree from the college in 1958 and taught his art for over 30 years.

Stein worked for several of the television stations around New England such as WGBH. His talents put him on the radar of several political figures in Washington, D.C. Some of the politicians he worked to make presentable included: Dwight D. Eisenhower, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Richard Nixon. Stein also used his abilities in philanthropic efforts. He did not consider himself as solely as a theatrical makeup artist but also as a rehabilitative makeup technician. Stein worked to use makeup as a form of rehabilitation for victims at the Burn Institute of Boston's Shriners Hospital for Children and for women at correctional facilities.

Stein passed away July 8, 2000 at the age of 81. His wife of 58 years, Sophie Shapiro Stein, passed away in 2006. The two are survived by their daughters Sharon Weinberger and Judy Klamka and by their five grand-children.

Extent

1.32 Linear feet

Additional Description

Arrangement

The collection has been divided into two series: materials pertaining to Emerson College, and those from the career of Stein as a professional in the entertainment industry.

Custodial History

Jack Stein donated his collection on September 20, 1991.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Jack Stein

Appraisal

In series two, Professional Entertainment, under the subseries titled Makeup one of the items of makeup needed to be disposed due to leakage from its container. Photographs of the item have been saved.

General

The Boston Globe. "Jack Stein, 81, Makeup Artist To Celebrities." Tribunedigital-sunsentinel. 10 July 2000. Web. 15 Apr. 2016.

Long, Tom. "Jack Stein: Makeup Artist for Ball, Streisand." Google News. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 8 July 2000. Web. 15 Apr. 2016.