Voting Station

Lillian Brown

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Stylist

The Resume

    (August 8, 1914-September 13, 2020)
    Born in McArthur Township, Ohio
    Birth name was Mary Lillian Josephine Brooks
    Served as a makeup artist and image consultant to nine US Presidents, from Eisenhower to Clinton
    Other clients included Martin Luther King, Jr., Eleanor Roosevelt, and Jacqueline Kennedy
    Did makeup work for CBS News’ Washington Bureau for four decades
    Wrote ‘Your Public Best’ (1989), ‘The Polished Politician’ (1994), and ‘Speaking to Be Understood’ (2003)

Why she might be annoying:

    She had no training in cosmetology.
    She said, ‘Every man fights makeup until he sees how he looks on TV without it.’
    She always kept a dark tie and a pair of black socks on her, in case a client needed them.
    She played a (small) part in the triumph of style over substance in politics.

Why she might not be annoying:

    She grew up on a farm without electricity or running water.
    She produced an educational program in the same studio where Face the Nation filmed. One day that show’s producer approached her and said, ‘Your people look wonderful and mine look terrible — what do you do?’
    The first ‘Face the Nation’ guest she was asked to makeup was Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn, who objected until she told him, ‘Mr. Sam, if you let me powder your nose, I will not relieve you of your manhood.’
    She said, ‘Unlike high-fashion makeup artists who want to make a person look as glamorous as possible, my goal is to make people look exactly like themselves.’
    She taught one of the first college courses on television.
    She continued teaching speech and elocution until she was 95.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 6 Votes: 83.33% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 46 Votes: 54.35% Annoying