Makeup Artist for Stars, First Lady Dies at 45
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NEW YORK — Way Bandy, the makeup artist who glamorized some of the world’s most famous women, including Elizabeth Taylor and Nancy Reagan, has died of AIDS, his agent said. He was 45.
Bandy collapsed Aug. 6 and was taken to New York Hospital, where he died Wednesday night, his agent, Helen Murray, said.
The cause of death was listed as pneumonia and the acquired immune deficiency syndrome virus.
Murray said Bandy kept his illness secret and worked steadily until his collapse.
“Way was an intensely private person,” Murray said. “There was nothing downbeat about his life, and there will nothing downbeat about his death.”
Bandy was born in Birmingham, Ala. He arrived in New York 20 years ago and quickly rose to the top in the makeup world.
Famous Clientele
He worked with such famous women as Diana Ross, Lauren Hutton, Lee Radziwill, Farrah Fawcett, Mary Tyler Moore, Barbara Walters and Taylor.
Models displaying his artistry regularly appeared on the covers of Cosmopolitan, Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar magazines.
Working with top fashion photographer Francesco Scavullo, Bandy made up Nancy Reagan in May for a picture in Harper’s Bazaar. It will appear in a fall issue of the magazine.
On the night Bandy died, a photograph of Mrs. Reagan with him was sent to his hospital room from the White House, according to a friend.
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