Notes for MAX FACTOR:

Alternate Dates of Death:
These dates cannot be correct as Mother died in 1874.
September 15, 1875 Lodz, Poland
June 16, 1877

Aged eight, Factor was placed in apprenticeship to a dentist/pharmacist. At the age of 14 he became an apprentice to a wig maker. At 20, he was running his own makeup shop.

He opened his own shop in a suburb of Moscow, selling hand-made rouges, creams, fragrances, and wigs. His big break came when a traveling theatrical troupe wore Factor's make-up to perform for Russian nobility. The Russian nobility appointed Factor the official cosmetic expert for the royal family and the Imperial Russian Grand Opera.

In 1904, Factor and his family emigrated to the United States. He and his wife Lisa and three children travelled in the steerage class on board the S.S. Moltke and were processed at Ellis Island on February 25, 1904; he had $400 in his possession. Factor made a new start in St. Louis, Missouri, at the 1904 World's Fair. He sold his rouges and creams, operating under the newly re-spelled name Max Factor. Factor saw an opportunity to provide make-up and wigs to the growing film industry. He moved his family to Los Angeles, California, in 1908 and got a job with the Pantages Theatre. In 1914, Factor created a make-up specifically for movie actors that, unlike theatrical make-up, would not crack or cake. Soon, movie stars were filing through Max Factor's make-up studio, eager to sample the "flexible greasepaint" while movie producers sought Factor's human hair wigs. He allowed the wigs to be rented to the producers of old Westerns on the condition that his sons were given parts's. The boys would keep an eye on the expensive wigs. Factor marketed a range of cosmetics to the public in the 1920s, insisting that every girl could look like a movie star by using Max Factor make-up.

Upon release from Russian Army in 1894 opened a shop on square in R'azan, suburb of Moscow and met Lizzie.

January 21, 1908 arrived in Los Angeles, California and founded his shop on Central Avenue.

Naturalization:
August 1912: Superior Court, Los Angeles, California

Census:
January 10, 1920: Pct 155 Ed 379 Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
April 16, 1930: Assy Dist 57, Bock 345, ED 113 Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California

Military Service:
Russian Army, age 19 mandatory 4 year conscription 1890-1894
September 12, 1918 WWI Draft Registration, Los Angeles, California

Residence:
1906 1437 Middle St., St. Louis, Missouri
January 21, 1908: Arrives in Los Angeles, California
1922: 326 S Hill St., Los Angeles, California

Occupation:
1904: Barber (Per Ship Manifest)
January 10, 1920: Manufacturer, Make-Up (Per Census)
April 16, 1930: Hairdresser (Per Census)

Buried: Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California.

 

Ship Manifest 1904



Ship Manifest 1922


Ship Manifest 1937



Petition For Naturalization


Passport Application (Pgs. 1-3)





Marriage License Application with Hume Helen Sradkowska


Marriage License with Hume Helen Sradkowska


Marriage License Application with Jenny Cook

Marriage License with Jenny Cook


Map of St. Louis, Missouri - Factor Homes


WWI Draft Registration Card


April 20, 1910 Los Angeles, CA Census


January 10, 1920 Los Angeles, CA Census


April 16, 1930 Los Angeles, CA Census








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