Lee Greenway, make-up man

While growing up in Rutherfordton, one of my TV favorites was, “I Love Lucy.” As the credits rolled during an early episode, Mom shouted excitedly, “Make-up! Lee Greenway! I went to high school with him!”

While such an outburst was out of character for her, she added some biographical details, so I accepted her pronouncement as gospel. Lee Greenway later became head make-up artist for all of Desilu Productions, including “The Andy Griffith Show.”

In the late 1970s, my wife and I were living in the Philippines. By an unusual set of circumstances, we visited the movie set of “Apocalypse Now.” Entering the make-up tent, we observed an actor being made-up; the make-up artist had his back to us. After an awkward silence, I said, “My Mom went to high school with a famous Hollywood make-up artist.”

Though I couldn’t see his face, I can imagine the artist rolling his eyes and silently wondering, “Who’s this bozo?” Offhandedly he asked, “And who was that?”

“Lee Greenway,” I replied.

At that, he stopped, turned to me and said with sincere amazement, “Lee Greenway was my teacher.”

Many years later, we were visiting my parents in Rutherfordton. One morning after breakfast, my dad, a semi-retired plumber, said casually, “You wanna meet Lee Greenway?”

“Sure, but how?”

“He called and said he’s got a problem with his hot water heater. Let’s check it out.”

A short time later, I was sipping coffee with Lee Greenway and eagerly relating how I’d met his student, Fred Blau, years before in the Philippines.

Daniel W. Mitchum, Boone, Blue Ridge Electric

top