PHILIP RHODES MY FRIEND and MARLON BRANDO'S

This is a memorial for an old friend - old? He must have been 95!

I'd been thinking about Philip and couldn't find the address book I had his number in. When I called yesterday, it was only to learn from Philip's grieving wife, Marie, that Philip had passed away early this year.

Phil was a true genius in the art of movie make-up - a silent giant - and collaborated with Marlon Brando for years, to get his look just right for his films. He had known John Barrymore and was a friend to Orson Wells. Phil and I spend hours talking about Hollywood and James Dean. I enjoyed listening to Phil's stories, and his philosophizing. He was a true gentleman of the kind they don't make any more, an ascot tucked into his shirt, immaculate. The last time I saw him he was having a little "power lunch" at DuPars, a diner famous for its pies, with a group of his friends. -Wes Bryan

I met Phil through Wes at the library where he and I first met. One time Phil talked to me about making noses and adding to chins with wax. He was one of those artistic individuals who always had a project. And he would go to book sales and giveaways and load up the trunk of his car, because he had the kind of mind that always craves knowledge.

He had vivid blue eyes and a youthful quality that defied his years; he had lived in Paris in the 1920's. I can only hope that I will live as long and be able to contribute creatively as much as Phil did. - Christine Trzyna