Edith Head Biography
Born: October 28, 1897
Died: October 24, 1981
Along with composer Max_Steiner and cinematographer James_Wong_Howe, American costume designer Edith Head was one of the few behind-the-scenes movie technicians that the general public knew by name. Holding a BA from the University of California at Berkeley and an MA from Stanford, Ms. Head spent her early professional years as a language and art teacher. Reportedly, she also tried her luck as a movie starlet in 1923. While attracted to films, Ms. Head was more at home designing for them than appearing in them. She joined the costume department of Paramount in 1932, graduating to head designer in the late '30s. Her name was attached to virtually every prestige production turned out by the studio over the next thirty years, including the autonomously-produced films of Cecil B. DeMille; Ms. Head gained DeMille's lifelong respect by being one of the few Hollywoodites who refused to kowtow to him. Many of Ms. Head's movie designs gained popularity in the public sector, notably Dorothy Lamour's formfitting sarong, Veronica Lake's peekaboo haircut, and Bette Davis' off-the-shoulder evening gown for All_About_Eve (1950). Nominated for 40 Academy Awards (all after 1947, the first year of the Best Costume Design category) Ms. Head won the prize for All_About_Eve, The_Heiress (1949), Samson and Delilah (1949), A Place in the Sun (1951), Roman_Holiday (1953), Sabrina (1954), The Facts of Life (1960) and The_Sting (1973). She also designed many of the gowns worn by the other Oscar recipients. After 35 years at Paramount, Ms. Head was signed by Universal in 1967, where she remained until her death. Because of her first-hand experience with four decades' worth of changing fashions, Ms. Head was indispensible to such period films of the '70s as The_Sting, Gable and Lombard (1976) and W.C. Fields and Me (1977). In 1980, she deliberately copied many of the creations of her Hollywood rivals for the Steve_Martin comedy Dead_Men_Don't_Wear_Plaid, in which Martin interacted with clips from classic films of the '40s. Ms. Head died shortly after finishing this assignment; when Dead_Men_Don't_Wear_Plaid was released in 1982, it carried a dedication to Edith Head. Hal Erickson, Rovi
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