Kickass Women in History: Milicent Patrick

For Halloween, I give you Kickass Woman Milicent Patrick, also known as Mildred Elizabeth Fulvia di Rossi, one of the first women in animation and the designer of the ‘Gill-man’ from The Creature From the Black Lagoon.

Born Mildred Elizabeth Fulvia Rossi in 1915, she grew up in San Simeon, California where her father was the superintendent of construction at Hearst Castle (designed and overseen by another Kickass Woman, architect Julia Morgan). As an adult, Milicent changed her name from Mildred to Milicent because she was fond of Hearst’s wife, Millicent (with two ‘L’s. Why did our Milicent only use one ‘L’? I don’t know!)

Milicent attended art school for three years and went to work in the ink-and-paint department at Disney Studios. The history of the ink-and-paint department is fascinating. It was staffed entirely by women (and, unsurprisingly, seen as less important than the work done by men). Milicent worked on Dumbo and Fantasia as one of the first women animators at Disney.

Before Millicent was born, her father, an Italian immigrant, reinvented himself as a native-born American. After her first divorce and after being disowned by her family, Milicent reinvented herself as an Italian Baroness who had left Italian nobility behind for the lights of Hollywood, as one does. She loved looking glamorous and was known for her taste in clothing and jewelry.

Milicent did acting and modeling work and then started working at Universal Studios in the make up department. She designed the Gill-man for The Creature From the Black Lagoon. It was a demanding design since the costume had to look convincing in 3D and the actor had to be able to walk and swim while wearing it. Mildred did the concept sketches that were subsequently turned into models and eventually an actual suit.

 

 

Unfortunately, after she participated in a promotional tour for the movie, her boss, jealous of her popularity, fired her and blackballed her. She returned to acting, usually as an extra or in small parts, until becoming a full-time socialite. Milicent died in 1998.

This Kickass Women column doubles as a mini-book review since my source was The Lady From the Black Lagoon by Mallory O’Meara. This book taught me so much about the different departments in film and how movie monsters are created. In her conclusion, O’Meara states:

Milicent’s life was shaped in part by real-life monsters and the obstacles put in her way by a patriarchal culture. But the lives of future artists and creators don’t have to be that way. It’s up to female filmmakers to keep creating great art. It’s up to those who find success to hold the door open for aspiring female filmmakers. It’s up to male allies to call out their scumbag male colleagues and to make spaces safer for women and marginalized voices. It’s up to actors to demand inclusion riders that require diversity on a film’s cast and crew with their contracts. It’s up to fans to demand films that are more inclusive, both in front of and behind the camera.

Milicent Patrick was a woman before her time. That time is now.

The Creature From the Black Lagoon is on YouTube and the creature still looks great, especially underwater. It’s from 1954, so there is some racism, I’m sorry to say. You might also check out the movie’s spiritual successor, The Shape of Water, a romance fantasy between a woman and a creature closely inspired by the one in The Creature From the Black Lagoon.