4 Movies That Used Deadly Asbestos On Set
It’s not just action-packed stunt scenes that can be dangerous to the lives of film actors and their doubles. Actors as recently as the 1980s were also put at risk due to something you likely wouldn’t have expected: asbestos.
This harmful natural mineral is responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of people every year, mostly through occupational exposure. What surprises most people is that it was intentionally used on film sets, with directors and teams unaware of its true danger.
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
The Wizard of Oz is an iconic film for its timeless story of home, unforgettable music, and pure cinematic magic. Yet in more recent years, it has become better known for its use of asbestos on set. Crystalline asbestos was used both on set pieces and in equipment. If it were used today and someone became unwell, they could have grounds to file a mesothelioma lawsuit.
The snow that fell on Dorothy and her companions in the poppy field was 100% pure industrial-grade asbestos, coating not only the set but also the actors’ hair, skin, and costumes. Asbestos was also used to treat the straw-stuffed scarecrow costume to ensure its flame resistance. Even the Wicked Witch’s broom contained it in the scene where it catches fire.
Holiday Inn (1942)
The Holiday Inn classic musical starring Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby is famous for its Academy Award-winning song, White Christmas. As lovely as the song is, it doesn’t seem as charming once you learn that asbestos snow was used in many of the winter scenes.
The raw white chrysotile asbestos fell around actors and covered the set. Factories sold it under brand names that mentioned snow because it looked authentic, and it became popular in home holiday decorations and movie sets.
Goldfinger (1964)
While the 1964 spy movie Goldfinger is about gold, it’s also a little bit about asbestos. That’s because asbestos-containing materials in the form of insulation boards were used for fire-proofing and studio staging. Asbestos was also used to lag pipes. During assembly and teardown, production crews, carpenters, and scenic painters were exposed to airborne fibers. Unfortunately, exposure to asbestos resulted in a set worker’s death.
UK man Ronald Sharp was a scenic painter in the 1960s and 1970s who worked alongside carpenters who would cut up asbestos boards used to line the sets. Ronald was not provided with any protective equipment to prevent him from inhaling the dust. He passed away from the asbestos-related cancer, mesothelioma, at age 59 in 2006.
Le Mans (1971)
In the 1971 racing film, Le Mans, starring Steve McQueen, asbestos was used to line race suits and helmets to stop them from catching fire in an accident. Those very safety measures in that film and Steve’s racing career were what contributed to his death from mesothelioma in 1980.
Steve was exposed to asbestos across three main environments in his life: his time in the U.S. Marine Corps, Hollywood movie sound stages, and race tracks. While serving in the Marine Corps from 1947 to 1950, he was tasked with removing asbestos pipe lagging from naval and troop ships. When he worked on movie sets, he was exposed to fireproofing and acoustic insulation materials containing asbestos. Even his extensive auto racing career and hobby were risky, as he was exposed to asbestos through his suits, helmets, vehicle gaskets, and brake linings.
The film industry doesn’t seem hazardous or dangerous, but it had dangers lurking where you least expected them in the pre-2000s. The good news is that we’re now aware of the dangers posed by asbestos, and it hasn’t been used on a film set for several decades.
