Edith Head (October 28, 1897 – October 24, 1981) was an
AmericaThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
n
costume designCostume design is the fabrication of apparel for the overall appearance of a character or performer. This usually involves researching, designing and building the actual items from conception. Costumes may be for a theater or cinema performance but may not be limited to such...
er who had a long career in Hollywood that garnered eight
Academy AwardsThe Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are presented annually by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers. The formal ceremony at which the awards are presented is...
—more than any other woman in history.
Early life and career
She was born
Edith Claire Posener in
Searchlight, NevadaSearchlight is a census-designated place in Clark County, Nevada, United States. The population was 576 at the 2000 census.Searchlight is located at ....
, the daughter of Max Posener and Anna E. Levy. Her father was a mining engineer in the gold mine there. Whether her parents were married is unknown but, in 1901, her mother married Frank Spare and Edith was passed off as his child. Though her birth parents were Jewish, Head would claim to be a
CatholicThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
later in life.
She moved to
San Bernardino, CaliforniaSan Bernardino is a large city located in the Inland Empire Metropolitan Area of Southern California. San Bernardino is also the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. San Bernardino's estimated population, as of 2006, is 205,010. As of 2006, it was the 18th largest city...
at an early age. She received a BA in French at the University of California at Berkeley in 1918 and an MA in Romance Languages from
Stanford UniversityThe Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university located in Stanford, California, United States...
in 1920. She became a Languages teacher (specializing in French). Her first teaching position was at Bishops School in La Jolla, California; however after one year she took a position teaching both Languages and Art at Hollywood School for Girls. To improve her drawing skills (which at this point were rudimentary) she took evening art classes at Chouinard Art College. On July 25, 1923, she married Charles Head, the brother of one of her Chouinard classmates, Betty Head. This marriage was short-lived, ultimately ending in divorce in 1936, after a number of years of separation, though Edith continued to be known professionally as Edith Head until her death.
In 1924, despite lacking art design or costume design experience, Head was hired as a costume sketch artist at
Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures Corporation is a Worldwide American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, California. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is the world's oldest existing American film studio; it is also the last...
in the costume department. Later Head admitted to borrowing another student's sketches for her job interview. She began designing costumes for silent films commencing with
The Wanderer in 1925, and by the 1930s had established herself as one of Hollywood's leading
costume designerA costume designer is a person whose responsibility is to design costumes for a film or stage production. He or she is considered part of the "production team", alongside the director, scenic and lighting designers as well as the sound designer. The costume designer might also collaborate with a...
s. She worked at Paramount for 44 years until she went to
Universal PicturesThis is a partial listing of films produced and/or distributed by Universal Pictures, the main motion picture production/distribution arm of Universal Studios, a subsidiary of NBC Universal.-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc...
on March 27, 1967, possibly prompted by her extensive work for director
Alfred HitchcockSir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British filmmaker and producer who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in his native United Kingdom in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
, who had moved to Universal in 1960.
She married set designer
Wiard IhnenWiard Ihnen was an American art director. He won two Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction.He was born in New York City, New York and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:...
on September 8, 1940. Their marriage lasted until his death in 1979.
The Paramount years
During her long career she was nominated for 35
Academy AwardsThe Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are presented annually by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers. The formal ceremony at which the awards are presented is...
, including every year from 1948 through 1966, and won eight times – more Oscars than any other woman. She was responsible for some of the best-known Hollywood fashion images of her day, with her costumes being worn by the most glamorous and famous actresses in films. Head's influence on world fashion was far reaching, especially in the 1950s when she began appearing on
Art LinkletterArthur Gordon "Art" Linkletter is a Canadian-American radio and television personality and the former host of two of the longest-running shows in United States broadcast history: House Party, which ran on CBS radio and television for 25 years, and People Are Funny, on NBC radio-TV for 19 years...
's television program and writing books on fashion.
Although Head was featured in studio publicity from the mid-1920s onward, she was originally over-shadowed by Paramount's Head Designer, first Howard Greer then
Travis BantonTravis Banton was the chief designer at Paramount Pictures. He is considered one of the most important Hollywood costume designers of the 1930s.He was born in Waco, Texas. Travis moved to New York City as a child...
. It was only after Banton's resignation in 1938 that she achieved fame as a designer in her own right. Her association with the "sarong" dress designed for Dorothy Lamour in
The HurricaneThe Hurricane is a film, directed by John Ford and produced by Samuel Goldwyn, about a tropical cyclone in the Pacific Ocean. It stars Dorothy Lamour and also Jon Hall, with Mary Astor, C...
made her well known among the general public, albeit as a more restrained designer than either Banton or
AdrianAdrian Adolph Greenberg , most widely known as Adrian, was an American costume designer whose most famous costumes were for The Wizard of Oz and other Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films of the 1930s and 1940s. During his career, he designed costumes for over 250 films and his screen credits usually read as...
. In 1944 she gained public attention for the top mink-lined gown she was credited with designing for Ginger Rogers in
Lady in the DarkLady in the Dark is a musical written by Kurt Weill , Ira Gershwin , and Moss Hart . It was produced by Sam Harris. The protagonist, Liza Elliott, is the unhappy female editor of a fashion magazine, Allure, who is undergoing psychoanalysis, said to be based on Hart's own experiences with...
, which gained notoriety as it was counter to the mood of wartime austerity. The institution of an Academy Award for Costume Designer in 1949 further boosted her career as it began her record breaking run of Award nominations and awards, beginning with her nomination for
The Emperor WaltzThe Emperor Waltz is a 1948 American musical film directed by Billy Wilder. The screenplay by Wilder and Charles Brackett was inspired by a real-life incident involving Franz Joseph I of Austria.-Plot:...
.
Head was known for her low-key working style, and unlike many of her male contemporaries usually consulted extensively with the female stars she worked with. As a result she was a favorite designer for several of the leading female stars of the 1940s and 1950s:
Ginger RogersGinger Rogers was an American film and stage actress, dancer and singer.During her long career, she made a total of 73 films, and is noted for her role as Fred Astaire's romantic interest and dancing partner in a series of ten Hollywood musical films that revolutionized the genre...
,
Bette DavisRuth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theatre. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres; from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
,
Barbara StanwyckBarbara Stanwyck was an American actress, a star of film and television, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors such as Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
,
Shirley MaclaineShirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, dancer, activist, and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career...
and
Anne BaxterAnne Baxter was an American actress known for her performances in films such as All About Eve, The Razor's Edge and The Ten Commandments.-Early life:...
, and was frequently 'loaned' out by
ParamountParamount Pictures Corporation is a Worldwide American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, California. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is the world's oldest existing American film studio; it is also the last...
to other studios at the request of their female stars. She was known for her restrained designs, and during the 1950s was dubbed the "queen of the shirtwaisters" by her detractors. However, it should be noted that this approach to costume design was in line with studio policy which did not want films (especially late release or re-released films) to become instantly dated through the use of short-lived costume fads. Despite this, or even because of this trait, she has been cited as one of Alfred Hitchcock's favorite costume designers and had a long association with Hal Wallis among others. Head had been famous for her work with Audrey Hepburn in
Roman Holiday. She designed the costumes for many of the solo films of
Jerry LewisJerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, film producer, writer, film director, singer and humanitarian. He is best-known for his slapstick humor in stage, screen, television, radio, recording and is also known for his charity fund-raising telethons and position as national chairman for the...
while he was at Paramount.
During her long career Head was occasionally criticized for her working methods. Early in her career she opposed the creation of a union to represent studio-based costume designers and outfitters, and she was accused of being "anti-union" on several occasions. Her design trademark of restraint on occasion brought her into conflict with the wishes of film stars or directors.
Claudette ColbertClaudette Colbert was a French-born American stage and film actress.Born in Saint-Mandé, France and raised in New York City, Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the 1920s, progressing to film with the advent of talking pictures...
was one star who apparently preferred not to work with her, while her relationship with flamboyant film director Mitchell Leisen was by all accounts quite tense. Despite her own design accomplishments, she had a reputation for taking credit for others' work. However, this practice only became controversial in the latter part of her career, since in the era of studio-dominated film production, a department head commonly claimed credit for design work created in his or her department. Privately, she was a warm and loving hostess, hosting fabulous soirées at her and her husband's Coldwater Canyon home.
The Universal Years
In 1967, she left
Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures Corporation is a Worldwide American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, California. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is the world's oldest existing American film studio; it is also the last...
, and joined
Universal PicturesThis is a partial listing of films produced and/or distributed by Universal Pictures, the main motion picture production/distribution arm of Universal Studios, a subsidiary of NBC Universal.-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc...
, where she remained until her death in 1981. As studio-based feature film production declined, and many of her favoured stars retired, Head became more active as a television costume designer, often designing costumes for film actresses, like Olivia De Havilland, who were now involved in television series or film work. In 1974, Edith Head enjoyed a final Oscar win for her work on
The StingThe Sting is a 1973 caper film set in September 1936 and revolving around a complicated plot by two professional grifters to con a mob boss . The story, created by screenwriter David S...
. This film, which starred Paul Newman and Robert Redford, was notable for its nostalgic recreation of American life in the 1930s.
During the late 1970s, Edith Head was asked to design a woman's
uniformA uniform is a set of standard clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are worn by armed forces and paramilitary organisations such as police, emergency services, security guards, in some workplaces and schools and by inmates...
for the
United States Coast GuardThe United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of seven uniformed services. It is unique among the military branches in that it has a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency mission as part of its mission set...
because of the increasing number of women in the Coast Guard. Head called the assignment a "highlight" in her career. She was awarded the Meritorious Public Service Award for her efforts on behalf of the Coast Guard . Also, during this period, her designs for a TV mini-series based on the novel
Little WomenLittle Women is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott . Written and set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House, in Concord, Massachusetts, it was published in two parts in 1868 and 1869...
were notable. Her last film project was the black and white comedy
Dead Men Don't Wear PlaidDead Men Don't Wear Plaid is a 1982 comedy film directed by Carl Reiner and starring Steve Martin and Rachel Ward. It is both a parody of, and homage to, film noir and the pulp detective movies of the 1940s and 1950s....
, starring
Steve MartinStephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician, and composer. He was raised in Southern California in a Baptist family, where his early influences were working at Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm and working magic and comedy acts at these and...
and
Carl ReinerCarl Reiner is an American actor, film director, producer, writer and comedian. He has won nine Emmy Awards during his career.-Early life:...
, in which she accurately re-created fashions of the 1940s, matching the extensive use of film clips from classic
film noirFilm noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as stretching from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
motion pictures. It was released shortly after her death and dedicated to her memory.
Head was a very private woman, a trait well illustrated by the dark sunglasses that became her
trademarkA trademark or trade mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or services from...
. Originally the lenses were blue, but later they were dark shades of gray. Originally, they were worn to see how the clothing would appear in black and white. The glasses and her unchanging hair style helped her to hide her true age. In the 1920s, she wore a
Colleen MooreColleen Moore was an American film actress, and one of the most fashionable stars of the silent film era.-Early life:...
Dutch boy cut, but in the 1930s she noticed
Anna May WongAnna May Wong was an American actress, the first Chinese American movie star, and the first Asian American to become an international star...
's style and copied it: flat bangs with a
chignonA chignon, pronounced "sheen-yon,” is a popular type of bun style. The word “chignon” comes from the French phrase “chignon du cou,” which means nape of the neck. Chignons are generally achieved by pinning the hair into a knot at the nape of the neck, but there are many different variations of the...
at the back. She would wear it for the rest of her life. These features and the consistency of her appearance over the decades helped make her an instantly recognised figure.
Death
She died on October 24, 1981 in her sleep while coughing violently, and ruptured her esophagus. The cough resulted from a rare bone marrow disease.
Head has a star on the
Hollywood Walk of FameThe Hollywood Walk of Fame is a sidewalk along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA, that serves as an entertainment museum...
at 6504 Hollywood Blvd.
Actresses designed for
Among the actresses Edith Head designed for were:
- Mae West
Mae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter, and sex symbol.Known for her bawdy double entendres, West made a name for herself in Vaudeville and on the stage in New York before moving to Hollywood to become a comedienne, actress and writer in the motion picture industry...
in She Done Him WrongShe Done Him Wrong is a Pre-Code 1933 Paramount Pictures comedy/romance motion picture starring Mae West and Cary Grant. Others in the cast include Louise Beavers, Owen Moore, Gilbert Roland, Noah Beery, Sr., and Rochelle Hudson....
, 1933, and Myra BreckinridgeMyra Breckinridge is a campy American comedy film released in 1970. Based on the 1968 novel of the same name by Gore Vidal, the film was directed by Michael Sarne, with Raquel Welch in the title role. It also starred John Huston as Buck Loner, Mae West as Letitia Van Allen , Farrah Fawcett, Roger...
, 1970, and Sextette in 1979
- Frances Farmer
Frances Elena Farmer was an American actress of stage and screen. She is perhaps better known for sensationalized and fictional accounts of her life, and especially her involuntary commitment to a mental hospital...
in Rhythm on the RangeRhythm on the Range is a 1936 Paramount Pictures musical film directed by Norman Taurog.-Plot:Doris Halliday is the daughter of wealthy banker Robert Halliday. She is about to marry a man she doesn't even love, so the family will become richer...
, 1936 and Ebb Tide, 1937
- Paulette Goddard
Paulette Goddard was an American film and theatre actress. A former child fashion model and in several Broadway productions as Ziegfeld Girl, she was a major star of the Paramount Studio in the 1940s. She was married to several notable men, including Charlie Chaplin, Burgess Meredith and Erich...
in The Cat and the CanaryThe Cat and the Canary is a 1939 comedy horror film remake of the 1927 film The Cat and the Canary, which was based on the 1922 play by John Willard. The film is directed by Elliott Nugent and stars Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard. Universal Studios, which produced the 1927 film, acquired the rights...
, 1939
- Veronica Lake
Veronica Lake was an American film actress and pin-up model who enjoyed both popular and critical acclaim, most notably for her femme fatale roles in film noir with Alan Ladd during the 1940s, as well as her peek-a-boo hairstyle.-Early life and career:Veronica Lake was born Constance Frances Marie...
in Sullivan's TravelsSullivan's Travels is a American comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges. It is a satire about a movie director, played by Joel McCrea, who longs to make a socially relevant drama, but eventually learns that comedies are his more valuable contribution to society. The film features one...
, 1941 and I Married a WitchI Married a Witch is a fantasy romantic comedy film, directed by René Clair, and starring Veronica Lake as a witch whose plan for revenge goes comically awry, with Frederic March as her foil. The film also features Robert Benchley, Susan Hayward and Cecil Kellaway...
, 1942
- Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress, a star of film and television, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors such as Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
in The Lady EveThe Lady Eve is a screwball comedy film about a mismatched couple who meet on a luxury liner, written by Preston Sturges based on a story by Monckton Hoffe, and directed by Sturges, his third directorial effort, after The Great McGinty and Christmas in July...
and Ball of FireBall of Fire is a 1941 comedy film about a group of professors laboring for years to write an encyclopedia and their encounter with a nightclub performer who provides her own unique knowledge...
both 1941 and Double Indemnity, 1944
- Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American film and stage actress, dancer and singer.During her long career, she made a total of 73 films, and is noted for her role as Fred Astaire's romantic interest and dancing partner in a series of ten Hollywood musical films that revolutionized the genre...
in Lady in the DarkLady in the Dark is a musical written by Kurt Weill , Ira Gershwin , and Moss Hart . It was produced by Sam Harris. The protagonist, Liza Elliott, is the unhappy female editor of a fashion magazine, Allure, who is undergoing psychoanalysis, said to be based on Hart's own experiences with...
, 1944
- Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman was a Swedish actress. She won three Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, and the Tony Award for Best Actress in the first Tony Award ceremony in 1947. She is ranked as the fourth greatest female star of American cinema of all time by the American Film Institute...
in Notorious, 1946
- Dorothy Lamour
Dorothy Lamour was an American film actress. She is probably best-remembered for appearing in the Road to... movies, a series of successful comedies co-starring Bob Hope and Bing Crosby.-Early life:...
in The HurricaneThe Hurricane is a film, directed by John Ford and produced by Samuel Goldwyn, about a tropical cyclone in the Pacific Ocean. It stars Dorothy Lamour and also Jon Hall, with Mary Astor, C...
, 1937, and in most of "The Road" movies.
- Betty Hutton
Betty Hutton was an American stage, film, and television actress and singer.-Early life:Hutton was born as Elizabeth June Thornburg, a daughter of railroad foreman Percy E. Thornburg and his wife, the former Mabel Lum...
in Incendiary BlondeIncendiary Blonde is a 1945 musical biography of 1920s nightclub star Texas Guinan. Filmed in Technicolor by director George Marshall, it starred actress Betty Hutton in the title role. The music was written by Robert Emmett Dolan. It was nominated for an Academy Award for "Best Music, Scoring of...
, 1945 and The Perils of PaulineThe Perils of Pauline is a feature film released by Paramount Pictures. The movie is a fictionalized Hollywood account of silent film star Pearl White's rise to fame, starring Betty Hutton as White....
, 1947
- Loretta Young
-Early life:She was born in Salt Lake City, Utah as Gretchen Young, of Luxembourgian descent.At confirmation, she took the name Michaela. She and her family moved to Hollywood when she was three years old. Loretta and her sisters Polly Ann Young and Elizabeth Jane Young worked as child actresses,...
in The Farmer's Daughter, 1947
- Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theatre. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres; from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
in June BrideJune Bride is a 1948 American comedy film directed by Bretaigne Windust. Ranald MacDougall's screenplay, based on the unproduced play Feature for June by Eileen Tighe and Graeme Lorimer, was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Comedy. The Warner Bros...
(1948) and All About EveAll About Eve is a 1950 American drama film, written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, based on the short story "The Wisdom of Eve," by Mary Orr.The film stars Bette Davis as Margo Channing, a highly regarded but aging Broadway star...
, 1950
- Olivia de Havilland
Olivia Mary de Havilland is an actress. She is the elder sister of actress Joan Fontaine. De Havilland is one of the last surviving female stars from 1930s Hollywood. She is also the last living lead from Gone with the Wind....
in The HeiressThe Heiress is a 1949 drama film by Ruth and Augustus Goetz adapted from their 1947 play of the same title that was based on the 1880 novel Washington Square by Henry James. The film was directed by William Wyler with Olivia de Havilland as Catherine Sloper, Montgomery Clift as Morris Townsend,...
, 1949
- Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian-born American actress and scientist. Though known primarily for her acting , she also co-invented an early form of spread spectrum communications technology, a key to modern wireless communication.-Early life and career in Europe:Lamarr was born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler...
and Angela LansburyAngela Brigid Lansbury, CBE is an English actress and singer whose career has spanned seven decades. Her first film appearance was in Gaslight , for which she received an Academy Award nomination as a malevolent maid, and she expanded her repertoire to Broadway and television in the 1950s...
in Samson and DelilahSamson and Delilah is a film made by Paramount Pictures, produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Victor Mature and Hedy Lamarr as the title characters...
, 1949
- Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson was an American actress. She was most prominent during the silent film era as both an actress and a fashion icon, especially under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille. She was also one of the first stars to challenge the Hays Code by producing the banned Sadie Thompson in 1928...
in Sunset Boulevard, 1950
- Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor, DBE , also known as Liz Taylor, is an English-born British-American actress. Known for her acting skills and beauty, as well as her Hollywood lifestyle, including many marriages...
in A Place in the SunA Place in the Sun is a 1951 American drama film based on the novel An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser and the play of the same name adapted from it by Patrick Kearney. It tells the story of a working class young man who is entangled with two women, one who works in his wealthy uncle's factory...
, 1951 and Elephant WalkElephant Walk is a 1954 Paramount Pictures film, directed by William Dieterle, and starring Elizabeth Taylor, Dana Andrews, Peter Finch and Abraham Sofaer....
, 1954
- Joan Fontaine
Joan Fontaine is a British American actress. She became an American citizen in April 1943. She is the younger sister of actress Olivia de Havilland, also an Academy Award winner. Along with Luise Rainer, Gloria Stuart, Shirley Temple, Deanna Durbin and Olivia de Havilland, Fontaine is one of the...
in Something to Live ForSomething to Live For is a American drama film starring Joan Fontaine, Ray Milland, and Teresa Wright, directed by George Stevens, and released by Paramount Pictures...
, 1952
- Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian.Born in Ixelles as Audrey Kathleen Ruston, Hepburn spent her childhood chiefly in the Netherlands, including German-occupied Arnhem, Netherlands, during the Second World War...
in Roman Holiday, 1953
- Ann Robinson
Ann Robinson is an American actress.Robinson was born in Hollywood, California to a bank employee father. She began her professional life as a stunt woman...
in The War of the Worlds, 1953
- Grace Kelly
Grace Patricia Kelly was an American film and stage actress and fashion icon who later became Princess Grace of Monaco....
in Rear WindowRear Window is a 1954 suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, written by John Michael Hayes based on Cornell Woolrich's short story "It Had to Be Murder", and starring James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Thelma Ritter, Wendell Corey and Raymond Burr...
, 1954, and To Catch a Thief To Catch a Thief is a romantic thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Jessie Royce Landis and John Williams. The movie is set on the French Riviera, and was based on the 1952 novel of the same name by David Dodge...
, 1955
- Doris Day
Doris Mary Anne von Kappelhoff , known by her stage name Doris Day, is an American singer and actress.With the versatility to sing, dance, and play comedy and dramatic roles, she became one of America's biggest box-office stars. Day has 39 movies to her credit, even though she retired from films in...
in The Man Who Knew Too MuchThe Man Who Knew Too Much is a suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring James Stewart and Doris Day. The film is a remake in widescreen VistaVision and Technicolor of Hitchcock's 1934 film of the same name....
, 1956
- Anne Baxter
Anne Baxter was an American actress known for her performances in films such as All About Eve, The Razor's Edge and The Ten Commandments.-Early life:...
in The Ten CommandmentsThe Ten Commandments is a 1956 motion picture that dramatized the biblical story of Moses, an adopted Egyptian prince-turned deliverer of the Hebrew slaves. It was released by Paramount Pictures in VistaVision on October 5, 1956. It was directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starred Charlton Heston in...
, 1956
- Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-born American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself. In 1920s Berlin, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
in Witness for the ProsecutionWitness for the Prosecution is a courtroom drama film based on a short story by Agatha Christie dealing with the trial of a man accused of murder. This trial movie was the first film adaptation of the story, stars Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, and Charles Laughton, and features Elsa Lanchester...
, 1957
- Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s not only as one of the era's top stars, but also as the era's greatest sex symbol, most notably in Gilda...
in Separate TablesSeparate Tables is a 1958 American drama film based on two one-act plays by Terence Rattigan that were collectively known by this name. It was directed by Delbert Mann, and adapted by Rattigan, John Gay and an uncredited John Michael Hayes....
, 1958
- Kim Novak
Kim Novak is a two-time Golden Globe Award-winning American actress. She is best known for her performance in the classic 1958 film Vertigo...
in VertigoVertigo is a American psychological thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring James Stewart, Kim Novak and Barbara Bel Geddes. The film was written by Alec Coppel and Samuel A. Taylor and based on a novel by Boileau-Narcejac...
, 1958
- Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren is an Italian film actress and an international sex symbol. In 1961, she won an Academy Award for Best Actress for Two Women, becoming the first actor to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance....
in That Kind of WomanThat Kind of Woman is a 1959 American drama film directed by Sidney Lumet, who was nominated for the Golden Berlin Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. The screenplay by Walter Bernstein, based on a short story by Robert Lowry , is highly reminiscent of the 1938 film The Shopworn...
, 1959
- Patricia Neal
Patricia Neal is an American actress of stage and screen.-Early life:Neal was born Patsy Louise Neal, in Packard, Whitley County, Kentucky...
in Breakfast at Tiffany's, 1961
- Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood was an American actress....
in Love With The Proper StrangerLove with the Proper Stranger is a romantic comedy drama film made by Pakula-Mulligan Productions and Boardwalk Productions and released by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Robert Mulligan and produced by Alan J. Pakula from a screenplay by Arnold Schulman.The film stars Natalie Wood, Steve...
, 1963 Sex and the Single GirlSex and the Single Girl is a best-selling book by Helen Gurley Brown, published in May 1962. Vaguely autobiographical, it encouraged women to actively pursue a full single life, which included acquiring a career, gaining financial independence and accepting one's looks...
1964, Inside Daisy CloverInside Daisy Clover is a 1965 drama film based on the 1963 novel by Gavin Lambert. It stars Natalie Wood, Christopher Plummer, Robert Redford, Roddy McDowall and Ruth Gordon in her Academy Award nominated role.- Plot :...
, 1965, PenelopeIn Homer's Odyssey, Penelópē is the faithful wife of Odysseus, who keeps her suitors at bay in his long absence and is eventually rejoined with him....
, 1966, This Property Is CondemnedThis Property Is Condemned is a 1966 American drama film starring Natalie Wood, Robert Redford, Kate Reid, Charles Bronson and Mary Badham and directed by Sydney Pollack. The screenplay was written by Francis Ford Coppola, Fred Coe and Edith Sommer. The story was adapted from the 1946 one-act...
, 1966
The Last Married Couple in AmericaThe Last Married Couple in America is a 1980 comedy film released in the US. It was directed by Gilbert Cates, whose most successful film Oh, God! Book II, was released in the same year...
, 1980
- Tippi Hedren
Nathalie Kay 'Tippi' Hedren is an American actress and former fashion model with a career spanning six decades. She is primarily known for her roles in two Alfred Hitchcock films, The Birds and Marnie, and her extensive efforts in animal rescue at Shambala Preserve, an wildlife habitat which she...
in The BirdsThe Birds is a suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock based on the 1952 novella The Birds by Daphne du Maurier. It depicts a small town in the San Francisco Bay Area which is, suddenly and for unexplained reasons, the subject of a series of widespread and violent bird attacks over the course...
, 1963 and MarnieMarnie is a psychological thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock and based on the novel of the same name by Winston Graham. The film stars Tippi Hedren and Sean Connery. The original film score was composed by Bernard Herrmann.-Plot:...
, 1964
- Claude Jade
Claude Jade, byname of Claude Marcelle Jorré was a French actress, best known by starring fictional character Christine Darbon-Doinel in François Truffaut's films Baisers volés , Domicile conjugal and L'amour en fuite .-From stage to François Truffaut:The daughter of a professor, she spent three...
in TopazTopaz, director Alfred Hitchcock's 51st movie, released in 1969. It is a Cold War and spy story, adapted from the book of the same name by Leon Uris....
, 1969
- Katherine Hepburn in Rooster Cogburn
Rooster Cogburn is a 1975 sequel to the 1969 western film, True Grit, and stars John Wayne, in his penultimate film, who reprises his role as U.S. Marshal Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn...
, 1975
- Jill Clayburgh
-Early life:Clayburgh was born in New York City to Julia , a theatrical production secretary for David Merrick, and Albert Henry "Bill" Clayburgh, a manufacturing executive. Clayburgh's family was Jewish and upper class; she was raised in a "fashionable" neighborhood on Manhattan's Upper East Side,...
in Gable and LombardGable and Lombard is a 1976 American biographical film directed by Sidney J. Furie. The screenplay by Barry Sandler is based on the romance and consequent marriage of legendary screen stars Clark Gable and Carole Lombard.-Synopsis:...
, 1976
- Valerie Perrine
-Early life:Perrine was born in Galveston, Texas, the daughter of Winifred , a dancer who appeared in George White's Scandals, and Kenneth Perrine, a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army. Owing to her father's career, Perrine lived in many locations as the family moved to different...
in W.C. Fields and MeW.C. Fields and Me is a 1976 American biographical film directed by Arthur Hiller and starring Rod Steiger and Valerie Perrine. The screenplay by Bob Merrill is based on a memoir by Carlotta Monti, mistress of W.C. Fields for the last 14 years of his life....
, 1976
Oscar nominations
- 1949 – Color – The Emperor Waltz
The Emperor Waltz is a 1948 American musical film directed by Billy Wilder. The screenplay by Wilder and Charles Brackett was inspired by a real-life incident involving Franz Joseph I of Austria.-Plot:...
- 1950 – Black and White – The Heiress
The Heiress is a 1949 drama film by Ruth and Augustus Goetz adapted from their 1947 play of the same title that was based on the 1880 novel Washington Square by Henry James. The film was directed by William Wyler with Olivia de Havilland as Catherine Sloper, Montgomery Clift as Morris Townsend,...
– won
- 1951 – Color – Samson and Delilah
Samson and Delilah is a film made by Paramount Pictures, produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Victor Mature and Hedy Lamarr as the title characters...
– won
- 1951 – Black and White – All About Eve
All About Eve is a 1950 American drama film, written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, based on the short story "The Wisdom of Eve," by Mary Orr.The film stars Bette Davis as Margo Channing, a highly regarded but aging Broadway star...
– won
- 1952 – Black and White – A Place in the Sun
A Place in the Sun is a 1951 American drama film based on the novel An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser and the play of the same name adapted from it by Patrick Kearney. It tells the story of a working class young man who is entangled with two women, one who works in his wealthy uncle's factory...
– won
- 1953 – Color – The Greatest Show on Earth
The Greatest Show on Earth is a 1952 drama film set in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The film was produced, directed, and narrated by Cecil B. DeMille, and won the Academy Award for Best Picture...
- 1953 – Black and White – Carrie
Carrie is a 1952 feature film based on the novel Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser.Directed by William Wyler, the film stars Jennifer Jones in the title role and Laurence Olivier as Hurstwood. Carrie received two Academy Award Nominations: Costume Design, and Best Art Direction...
- 1954 – Black and White – Roman Holiday – won
- 1955 – Black and White – Sabrina
Sabrina is a 1954 film directed by Billy Wilder, adapted for the screen by Wilder, Samuel A. Taylor, and Ernest Lehman from Taylor's play Sabrina Fair...
– won
-
- Although Edith Head won an Oscar for Best Costumes, most of Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian.Born in Ixelles as Audrey Kathleen Ruston, Hepburn spent her childhood chiefly in the Netherlands, including German-occupied Arnhem, Netherlands, during the Second World War...
's "Parisian" ensembles were, in fact, designed by Hubert de GivenchyCount Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy is a French aristocrat and fashion designer who founded the The House of Givenchy in 1952...
and chosen by the star herself. However, since the costumes were actually made in Edith Head's Paramount Studios costume department, some felt that that was enough of a technicality to nominate Edith, instead of Monsieur Givenchy. Edith Head refused to be shown alongside Givenchy in the credits, so she was given credit for the costumes, even though the Academy's votes were obviously for Hepburn's attire. Edith Head did not refuse the Oscar, however.
- 1956 – Color – To Catch a Thief
To Catch a Thief is a romantic thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Jessie Royce Landis and John Williams. The movie is set on the French Riviera, and was based on the 1952 novel of the same name by David Dodge...
- 1956 – Black and White – The Rose Tattoo
The Rose Tattoo is a Tennessee Williams play. It opened on Broadway in February 1951, and a film adaptation was released in 1955. It tells the story of an Italian-American widow in Louisiana who has allowed herself to withdraw from the world after her husband's death, and expects her daughter to...
- 1957 – Color – The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments is a 1956 motion picture that dramatized the biblical story of Moses, an adopted Egyptian prince-turned deliverer of the Hebrew slaves. It was released by Paramount Pictures in VistaVision on October 5, 1956. It was directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starred Charlton Heston in...
- 1957 – Black and White – The Proud and Profane
The Proud and Profane is a 1956 dramatic war romance made by William Perlberg-George Seaton Productions for Paramount Pictures. It was directed by George Seaton and produced by William Perlberg, from a screenplay by George Seaton, based on the novel The Magnificent Bastards by Lucy Herndon...
- 1958 – Best Costume Design – Funny Face
Funny Face is an American musical film released in 1957 in VistaVision Technicolor, with assorted songs by George and Ira Gershwin. The film was written by Leonard Gershe and directed by Stanley Donen. It stars Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire, and Kay Thompson. Richard Avedon designed the opening...
- 1959 – Best Costume Design, Black and White or Color – The Buccaneer
The Buccaneer is a 1958 film, made by Paramount Pictures and shot in Technicolor and VistaVision. It takes place during the War of 1812, and tells a heavily fictionalized version of how the pirate Jean Lafitte helped in the Battle of New Orleans and how he had to choose between fighting for...
- 1960 – Color – The Five Pennies
The Five Pennies was a semi-biographical 1959 film starring Danny Kaye as cornet player and bandleader Red Nichols. Other cast members included Barbara Bel Geddes, Harry Guardino, Bob Crosby, Louis Armstrong, Susan Gordon, and Tuesday Weld...
- 1960 – Black and White – Career
Career is a term defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as an individual's "course or progress through life "...
- 1961 – Color – Pepe
Pepe is a 1960 movie starring Mario "Cantinflas" Moreno in the title role, directed by George Sidney. A multitude of cameo appearances attempted to replicate the success of Mario Moreno's American debut, Around the World in Eighty Days, produced by Mike Todd in 1956.The film failed to achieve the...
- 1961 – Black and White – The Facts of Life
The Facts of Life is a 1960 romantic comedy starring Bob Hope and Lucille Ball as middle-aged people who have an affair despite being married to other people. Written, directed, and produced by the longtime Hope associates Melvin Frank and Norman Panama, the film was more serious than many other...
– won
- 1962 – Color – Pocketful of Miracles
Pocketful of Miracles is a 1961 American comedy film directed by Frank Capra. The screenplay by Hal Kanter and Harry Tugend is based on the screenplay Lady for a Day by Robert Riskin, which was adapted from the Damon Runyon short story Madame La Gimp.The film proved to be the final project for both...
- 1963 – Color – My Geisha
My Geisha is an American film directed by Jack Cardiff, starring Yves Montand, Shirley MacLaine, and Edward G. Robinson, and released by Paramount Pictures...
- 1963 – Black and White – The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is a 1962 Western movie directed by John Ford and starring James Stewart and John Wayne. It was released by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay is adapted from a short story written by Dorothy M...
- 1964 – Color – A New Kind of Love
A New Kind of Love is a 1963 romantic comedy film directed by Melville Shavelson and starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Thelma Ritter, Eva Gabor, George Tobias, and Maurice Chevalier....
- 1964 – Black and White – Wives and Lovers
- 1964 – Black and White – Love with the Proper Stranger
Love with the Proper Stranger is a romantic comedy drama film made by Pakula-Mulligan Productions and Boardwalk Productions and released by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Robert Mulligan and produced by Alan J. Pakula from a screenplay by Arnold Schulman.The film stars Natalie Wood, Steve...
- 1965 – Color – What a Way to Go!
What A Way To Go! is a 1964 American comedy film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Shirley MacLaine, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Dean Martin, Gene Kelly and Dick Van Dyke.-Plot:...
- 1965 – Black and White – A House Is Not A Home
A House Is Not a Home is a 1964 drama film loosely based on the 1953 autobiography by madam Polly Adler. The film stars Shelley Winters, Robert Taylor, Cesar Romero, and Kaye Ballard.-Cast:-Award nominations:Academy Award
...
- 1966 – Color – Inside Daisy Clover
Inside Daisy Clover is a 1965 drama film based on the 1963 novel by Gavin Lambert. It stars Natalie Wood, Christopher Plummer, Robert Redford, Roddy McDowall and Ruth Gordon in her Academy Award nominated role.- Plot :...
- 1966 – Black and White – The Slender Thread
The Slender Thread is a 1965 film starring Anne Bancroft and Sidney Poitier. It was the first feature length film directed by Academy Award-winning director, producer & actor Sydney Pollack....
- 1967 – Color – The Oscar
- Oscars no longer awarded separately for Color or Black and White
- 1970 – Sweet Charity
Sweet Charity is a 1969 musical movie directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse, written by Neil Simon, and starring Shirley MacLaine. It is based on the 1966 stage musical of the same name, which Fosse had directed and choreographed also. The movie was notable for costumes by Edith Head and its...
- 1971 – Airport
Airport is a 1970 film based on the 1968 Arthur Hailey novel of the same name. This film, which earned over $100,000,000 at the box office at a time when achieving that milestone was rare, focuses on an airport manager trying to keep his airport open during a snowstorm, while a suicidal bomber...
- 1974 – The Sting
The Sting is a 1973 caper film set in September 1936 and revolving around a complicated plot by two professional grifters to con a mob boss . The story, created by screenwriter David S...
– won
- 1976 – The Man Who Would Be King
The Man Who Would Be King is a 1975 film adapted from the Rudyard Kipling short story of the same title. It was adapted and directed by John Huston and starred Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Saeed Jaffrey, and Christopher Plummer as Kipling .The film follows two rogue ex-non-commissioned officers of...
- 1978 – Airport '77
Airport '77 is a 1977 disaster film and second sequel in the Airport franchise.The film starred a number of veteran actors, including Jack Lemmon, James Stewart, Joseph Cotten, Christopher Lee and Olivia de Havilland. Like its predecessors, Airport '77 was a box office hit earning US$30 million...
Guest appearances
Made brief appearance acting as herself in *
Columbo: Requiem for a Falling Star (
1973The year 1973 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces his second wife, Barbara Blakely. Blakely would later marry actor/singer Frank Sinatra....
) as the clothing designer for
Anne BaxterAnne Baxter was an American actress known for her performances in films such as All About Eve, The Razor's Edge and The Ten Commandments.-Early life:...
's character. Her Oscars were displayed on a desk in the scene.
Appeared as herself in
Lucy Gallant in 1955 as emcee for a fashion show.
Homage to Edith Head in other media
As part of a series of stamps issued by the U.S. Postal Service in February 2003 commemorating the behind-the-camera personnel who make movies, Head appeared on an American
postage stampA postage stamp is adhesive paper evidence of a fee paid for postal services. Usually a small rectangle attached to an envelope, the stamp signifies the person sending it has fully or partly paid for delivery...
honoring costume design.
To many viewers of the 2004
PixarPixar Animation Studios is a CGI animation production company based in Emeryville, California, United States. To date, the studio has earned twenty-two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, and three Grammys, among many other awards, acknowledgments and achievements. It is one of the most critically...
/
DisneyWalt Disney Pictures refers to several different entities associated with The Walt Disney Company:Walt Disney Pictures, the film banner, was established as a designation in 1983, prior to which Disney films since 1954 were released under the name of the parent company, then named Walt Disney...
computer-animated film
The IncrediblesThe Incredibles is a 2004 computer-animated superhero film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. It was written and directed by Brad Bird, a former director and executive consultant of The Simpsons. It stars an ensemble cast including Holly Hunter, Craig T....
, the personality and mannerisms of the film's fictional superhero costume designer
Edna ModeEdna Mode is a supporting character from the movie The Incredibles. A half-Japanese, half-German fashion designer and auteur, Edna has created custom-made original outfits for superheroes since the "glory days", saying that she designs for gods...
suggest a colorful
caricatureA caricature can refer to a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness...
of Edith Head. Edna Mode's sense of style, round glasses, and assertive no-nonsense character are very likely a direct
homageHomage is pronounced variously as , , or . The last reflects the modern French pronunciation, although the word entered Middle English many centuries ago. In traditional usage it is analogous to praise; one properly speaks of homage or the homage, rather than a homage or an homage...
to Head's legendary accomplishments and personal traits, but the film's director,
Brad BirdPhillip Bradley "Brad" Bird is a two-time Academy Award-winning American director. His best known works are Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles and Ratatouille . He also adapted and directed the critically-acclaimed 2-D hand-animated 1999 Warner Bros. film The Iron Giant...
, has not yet confirmed or denied this.
The rock group
They Might Be GiantsThey Might Be Giants is a double Grammy Award-winning American alternative rock band which began as a duo of John Flansburgh and John Linnell, and currently also includes Marty Beller, Dan Miller, and Danny Weinkauf. Formed in 1982, they are best known for an unconventional and experimental style...
made reference to her in a song called "She Thinks She's Edith Head".
In the animated television
FuturamaFuturama is an animated American sci-fi sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox network. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
episode "
That's Lobstertainment!"That's Lobstertainment!" is the eighth episode in season three of Futurama. It originally aired February 25, 2001.-Plot:After a disastrous attempt at stand-up comedy, Dr. Zoidberg informs the crew that his uncle, Harold Zoid, was a star in the silent hologram era. Zoidberg writes to his uncle,...
", Edith Head was pictured as a head in a jar sitting in the front row at the Oscars.
Toronto neo-swing band
Atomic 7Atomic 7 is a Canadian instrumental rock trio formed in 1998, led by its only constant member, former Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet guitarist Brian Connelly. While Shadowy Men occasionally used vocals, Atomic 7's music is completely instrumental...
released an album called
Gowns by Edith Head.
External links