Starred Review ALA Booklist (Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2019)

Starred Review Horror fan and film producer O'Meara was so thrilled when she discovered that the titular entity from the Creature from the Black Lagoon was designed by a woman that she had a tattoo of Milicent Patrick and her beloved creature inked on her forearm. But O'Meara didn't stop there: inspired by Patrick's seminal contribution and frustrated by her relative obscurity, O'Meara set off on a quest to discover everything she could about her idol, resulting in this engaging, conversational, passionate biography, which details both Patrick's life and O'Meara's own research mission. Born in 1915 to a conservative structural engineer, Patrick grew up in the shadow of Hearst Castle before her family moved to Hollywood and Patrick started her Hollywood career as an actress and an animator. In an ironic twist of fate, the man responsible for hiring Patrick as a designer at Universal Pictures would also be the one who cut her career short because of his envy over the attention she got for creating the creature. Fans of traditional biographies might balk at O'Meara's candid style and observations, but there's never a dull moment in this beautiful, heartfelt tribute to a pioneering special-effects designer and animator and passionate call for change in the industry that forgot her.

Kirkus Reviews

An idiosyncratic, much-needed biography of "a woman before her time."Screenwriter and genre film producer O'Meara's first book is an engaging chronicle of Milicent Patrick (1915-1998), a woman trailblazer in the film industry, as well as the personal story of O'Meara's own, not always pleasant, experiences in the industry. As the enthusiastic author writes, in 2018, Patrick is "still the only woman to have designed an iconic movie monster." Yet "she's not just the queen of monsters, the goddam Joan of Arc." O'Meara set out on a nearly three-year journey to piece together the life of this largely unrecognized artist. Mildred Elisabeth Fulvia Rossi was born in El Paso, Texas. When she was 6, her father, Camille, was hired to be the on-site superintendent of construction for the William Randolph Hearst estate, and Patrick spent 10 wonderful years as "Alice in Wonderland." Years later, she changed her name in honor of Hearst's wife, Millicent (Patrick left out the second "l"). In 1935, she began her study of illustration and drawing at the Chouinard Art Institute. In 1938, "her work caught the eye of Walt Disney," and she joined his studio, working on The Sorcerer's Apprentice and Dumbo. Patrick did some bit acting and modeling before getting a big break in 1952, when she was the first woman hired by Bud Westmore for his famous special effects makeup department at the male-dominated Universal Studios. After designing monsters for some science-fiction movies, she took on her most famous design, Gill-Man, for the classic Creature from the Black Lagoon, "still one of the best designed and recognizable movie monsters in Hollywood history." She never received any on-screen credit, and a highly successful tour she did promoting the film got her fired by a jealous Westmore.Jam-packed with many funny, goofy footnotes, this passionately written biography will do much to bring Patrick the recognition she deserves.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

In this captivating and exhaustively researched biography, screenwriter and producer O-Meara chronicles the largely unknown story of artist and actress Milicent Patrick, designer of the monster in the 1954 film Creature from the Black Lagoon. O-Meara traces Patrick-s journey from precocious art student to her tenure as one of the first female animators at Disney and her discovery by Universal Studios- head of makeup, Bud Westmore. After designing the creature for the hit film and being sent on a whirlwind press tour, Patrick became the target of Westmore-s jealousy, was fired, and subsequently was denied credit for her work. O-Meara also shares her own filmmaking experiences in modern-day Hollywood, including being accused of getting a job by sleeping with the boss and being sexually harassed by a voice actor, to highlight the continuing challenges for women in the film industry. These personal anecdotes may initially appear a distraction from Patrick-s story, but O-Meara-s enthusiasm for her subject soon overcomes all objections. This is a fascinating slice of Hollywood history with a feminist slant, correcting a sexist wrong from decades ago and restoring Patrick to her rightful place of esteem. Agent: Brady McReynolds, JABberwocky Literary Agency. (Mar.)

School Library Journal (Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2018)

Particularly timely in light of the Too movement, this book is more than simply a tribute to a forgotten pioneer of special effects and makeup design, Milicent Patrick. The creator of the iconic mask used in Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), and one of the first female animators for Walt Disney, Patrick seemed destined for a memorable career before encountering the sexism of male coworkers threatened by her talents. When she was a child, her father had been superintendent of construction at newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst's Hearst Castle, so readers are also treated to a fascinating side story about life in and around San Simeon, CA, as well as the peripatetic life of Patrick's family. But it's the book's subtitle that clearly has a twofold meaning for author, screenwriter, and producer O'Meara, reflecting her passion for the project. The individuals she discusses are also those who are part of the internalized misogyny of the industry, and she and her subject had to handle very similar situations and prejudices. VERDICT This engaging, forthright, and personal history of both the author and her muse will be a valuable addition to most libraries. Peter Thornell, Hingham P.L., MA