"Even before the movies, fake snow has existed for hundreds of years. MARC WANAMAKER: All the special effects came from the theater. HENSEL: That's Marc Wanamaker, a Hollywood historian. He says the industry has experimented with many different materials to find the perfect snow. WANAMAKER: Feathers, cotton, breakfast cereal. And a really good one was potato flakes."
"But early on, Hollywood settled on more chemical concoctions. WANAMAKER: A lot of the time, if they were lucky, they were using borax flakes and even ammonia. That wasn't as dangerous as that they were starting to use asbestos, would you believe? HENSEL: Like in the famous sledding scene in "Citizen Kane." (SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "CITIZEN KANE")"
"But gypsum, ammonia, asbestos were unsafe for actors. Legend has it, Lon Chaney, the silent film star who appeared in the "Phantom Of The Opera," died after the fake snow that lodged in his throat exacerbated his cancer. For Wanamaker, the best fake snow appears in Frank Capra's 1946 classic, "It's A Wonderful Life." (SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE")"
Fake snow has a long history predating film, originating in theatrical special effects and evolving through many materials. Early practitioners used feathers, cotton, breakfast cereal and potato flakes to simulate snow. As filmmaking advanced, chemical concoctions such as borax flakes, ammonia and even asbestos were employed for realism. Those chemical methods posed health risks to actors and crews, with anecdotes linking asbestos-laden snow to long-term harm. Iconic films like "Citizen Kane" and "It's A Wonderful Life" used notable fake snow effects, and concerns about safety eventually drove the industry toward safer alternatives.
Read at www.npr.org
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