There are stories from Hollywood that are just myths. One of those stories involves metallic body paint.
The Myth about the Gold-Painted Bond Woman
In Goldfinger, there was a scene where ex-Goldfinger henchman/Bond girl Jill Masterson, played by Barbara Eaton, was found painted in gold all over her body, suffocating her to death after turning the tables on Auric Goldfinger and falling for James Bond. In the movie, the Bond girl dies of “skin asphyxiation” due to the amount of gold painted on her body. He tells M: “She died of skin suffocation, it’s been known to happen to cabaret dancers. It’s all right so long as you leave a small bare patch at the base of the spine to allow the skin to breathe.” In the urban legend, people believe she really did die afterwards because of the body paint due to internet rumours, and Eaton stopped acting and disappeared from the public eye. Barbara Eaton was still alive years later to do a 60th anniversary of the film in the 2010s. In the backstage notes of the scene, doctors were standing by to help Eaton for heat exhaustion due to the paint blocking her ability to perspire and any allergic reaction. Her stomach she was lying on was not painted in the scene. The scene only took two hours to film, and it was able to be quickly wrapped afterwards.
GOLDFINGER | 007 discovers Jill Masterson
The Tale of the First Tin Man
In the 1939’s The Wizard Of Oz, Buddy Ebsen was originally slated to play the Scarecrow in the film but switched roles to play the Tin Woodman instead. Pre-production for the film experimented with a variety of materials for his clothes. They used real tin, silver paper, and cardboard covered with silver cloth until settling on aluminum dust powder to be applied over thick white-based makeup for a silver shine. Ebsen had an allergic reaction to the metallic body paint, infecting his lungs scarcely able to breathe. He was sent to a hospital to an oxygen tent because his lungs had failed nine days after rehearsals. He was in the hospital for two weeks for treatment, then an additional month recuperating in San Diego. Epstein was replaced by Jack Haley in the role, but his voice made it to the soundtrack on We’re Off To See the Wizard.
But even Jack Haley had issues with the aluminum makeup, giving him an eye infection. Pre-production changed the powder of aluminum makeup that was brushed on to a paste that was painted on. He was treated for the eye infection before it caused permanent damage, missing four days of filming.
The Tin Man from MGM’s 1939 classic ‘The Wizard of Oz’, this screenshot showcases the iconic metallic makeup that caused health issues for the actor.
Banner Credit: Photo by Sandra Consuegra on Pexels with some photoshop
Under The Moonlight 
There are stories from Hollywood that are just myths. One of those stories involves metallic body paint.
The Myth about the Gold-Painted Bond Woman
In Goldfinger, there was a scene where ex-Goldfinger henchman/Bond girl Jill Masterson, played by Barbara Eaton, was found painted in gold all over her body, suffocating her to death after turning the tables on Auric Goldfinger and falling for James Bond. In the movie, the Bond girl dies of “skin asphyxiation” due to the amount of gold painted on her body. He tells M: “She died of skin suffocation, it’s been known to happen to cabaret dancers. It’s all right so long as you leave a small bare patch at the base of the spine to allow the skin to breathe.” In the urban legend, people believe she really did die afterwards because of the body paint due to internet rumours, and Eaton stopped acting and disappeared from the public eye. Barbara Eaton was still alive years later to do a 60th anniversary of the film in the 2010s. In the backstage notes of the scene, doctors were standing by to help Eaton for heat exhaustion due to the paint blocking her ability to perspire and any allergic reaction. Her stomach she was lying on was not painted in the scene. The scene only took two hours to film, and it was able to be quickly wrapped afterwards.
The Tale of the First Tin Man
In the 1939’s The Wizard Of Oz, Buddy Ebsen was originally slated to play the Scarecrow in the film but switched roles to play the Tin Woodman instead. Pre-production for the film experimented with a variety of materials for his clothes. They used real tin, silver paper, and cardboard covered with silver cloth until settling on aluminum dust powder to be applied over thick white-based makeup for a silver shine. Ebsen had an allergic reaction to the metallic body paint, infecting his lungs scarcely able to breathe. He was sent to a hospital to an oxygen tent because his lungs had failed nine days after rehearsals. He was in the hospital for two weeks for treatment, then an additional month recuperating in San Diego. Epstein was replaced by Jack Haley in the role, but his voice made it to the soundtrack on We’re Off To See the Wizard.
But even Jack Haley had issues with the aluminum makeup, giving him an eye infection. Pre-production changed the powder of aluminum makeup that was brushed on to a paste that was painted on. He was treated for the eye infection before it caused permanent damage, missing four days of filming.
Banner Credit: Photo by Sandra Consuegra on Pexels with some photoshop
Reference:
BBC – Goldfinger and the myth of a Bond girl’s death
Snopes – Was Buddy Ebsen the Original ‘Wizard of Oz’ Tin Man?
Grunge – Why The Tin Man Was The Most Dangerous Role In The Wizard Of Oz
McGill University – Can someone really suffocate from being covered with gold paint like Jill Masterson in Goldfinger?
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