Way Bandy

Way Bandy (August 9, 1941 – August 13, 1986) was an American make-up artist. During the 1970s, Bandy became one of the most well known and highest paid make-up artists in the fashion industry. Photographer and frequent collaborator Francesco Scavullo called Bandy "one of the great makeup artists of our time."

Early life Bandy was born Ronald Duane Wright in Birmingham, Alabama, the second of three sons of a middle-class family. As a child, Bandy preferred to read, sew and take piano lessons. His love of movie magazines and the stars featured in the pages led him to begin portrait paintings. He said, "I would make them up the way I thought they should look. That's how I learned about cosmetics—it's a direct outgrowth of my painting." Bandy enrolled at the Christine Valmy Beauty School. It was there that he learned about proper skin cleansing and structure and became interested in makeup application. Bandy then became the school's "dermaspecialist" and was later assigned to teach makeup application techniques to students. The school was one of the first in New York to offer such a course.

Around this time, Bandy set about reinventing himself. He underwent a nose job and face lift and capped his teeth. He also changed his name to "Way Bandy" explaining, "The name just came into my consciousness." After his reinvention, Bandy never publicly discussed the details of his previous life and refused to reveal his birth name or real age. In 1969, Bandy was hired as the makeup director at Charles of the Ritz where he met photographer Francesco Scavullo. Scavullo was impressed by Bandy's "face designing" techniques and the two became frequent collaborators. In 1971, he left Charles of the Ritz to do makeup for the Broadway show No, No, Nanette. After the show closed, Bandy began working as a freelance makeup artist for print, television and films. Bandy's work was featured in editorials for Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Harper's Bazaar and Rolling Stone. He also worked with several noted photographers including Scavullo, Richard Avedon, Hiro, Horst P. Horst, Helmut Newton, Irving Penn, and Victor Skrebneski. Bandy's emphasis on skin care (he used cold pressed avocado or olive oil to cleanse client's faces) and natural makeup he created and mixed himself made him a favorite among celebrities.

Illness and death By the mid-1980s, the AIDS epidemic was spreading throughout the United States and would claim the lives of many fashion industry figures. Bandy's friend, hairstylist Maury Hopson, later said that he and Bandy became fearful of contracting the disease after both had what Hobson described as a "running crazy period". The two, who had never been romantically involved, decided to become celibate and adopted a macrobiotic diet to help boost their immune systems. Bandy was already a well known devotee to naturopathy, iridology, and vegetarianism after he contracted pneumonia and pleurisy in 1962. He routinely soaked organic vegetables in a solution of bleach and distilled water (one half teaspoon in a gallon of water) believing that "Clorox raises its energy level and removes insecticides." Concerned about her client's declining health, Bandy's agent Helen Murray called former Vogue editor-in-chief Grace Mirabella for advice. Mirabella contacted her husband, a doctor, who convinced Bandy to check into the hospital. Bandy relented and checked into New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center the following day. He also requested that no survivors be named.

Bandy is commemorated in the AIDS Quilt.