On the lot at Universal Pictures is a new attraction of truly Jurassic proportions: the world’s largest mobile makeup and hair trailer. It’s the brain trust of Desperate Housewives makeup head John M. Elliott Jr. and hair department head Gabor Heiligenberg, as well as Pegasus Trailer’s Larry Williams and makeup artist Jeff Dawn. The 10-station colossus cost a cool half mil to build and includes amenities more often found in an upscale salon. The 53 footer is 13.5 feet high with an expanded belly-width of 12 feet. Rolling at 69,000 pounds loaded, the rig can travel wherever a normal sized trailer can and can carry twice the load of a 40 footer. Along with its magnitude, its tremendous stability allows delicate makeup work to continue even as people walk and doors open and close. Apparently the adage “size matters” can be applied to this Desperate rig; the concept has proved so successful that two additional Pegasus units have already been industry ordered.
Along with super-sized jockey boxes and acres of storage cabinets, each identical station boasts personal climate zones, dedicated cable/DVD players with flat screen TVs, dimmable “daylight” makeup mirrors and wi-fi capability. A few of the trailer’s “wows” are an enclosed shower, shampoo station, padded rubber flooring, pull-down viewing screens (for continuity photos and dailies) and individual air compressors and airbrushes.
The gargantuan creation came from the mind of Elliott, whose vision of this specialized trailer sprang from a desire to maintain and improve the superior look of the residents of Wisteria Lane.
