T
Travilla
Additional Credits
Born March 22, 1920Died November 2, 1990 (70 years)
The man who draped a fringed Idaho potato sack on Marilyn Monroe for a famous snapshot - proving that she looked good in anything - was born on Catalina Island off the California coast on March 22 1920. He studied at the Chouinard School of Art in L.A., showing a precocious talent for drawing fashion design from an early age. By the time he was sixteen, he made money by selling sketches of costume designs for showgirls he had studied at burlesque houses.
Found unfit for wartime duties due to flat feet, William Travilla made his way to Hollywood and signed his first contract as costume designer at Columbia in 1941. However, during his two-year tenure he received rather few assignments and left disillusioned. Little work came his way during the next few years, until, in 1946, he was spotted in a nightclub (selling travel sketches of the South Pacific) by the actress Ann Sheridan, who became an instant admirer of his work. Sheridan persuaded Travilla to become her personal costume designer at Warner Brothers. This didn't quite come to pass, though he did design her gowns for Nora Prentiss (1947). More importantly, he notched up his first major success by winning the Academy Award for the lavish and colourful costumes of Adventures of Don Juan (1948) in conjunction with Leah Rhodes and Marjorie Best. After his three year contract was up, Travilla went on to 20th Century Fox, for what would become the most productive period of his career in the film business. At the same time, he set up his own high end fashion salon, Travilla Inc., in Los Angeles, creating several collections of elegant, award-winning designs.
Travilla dressed many established stars, from Marlene Dietrich and Joan Crawford, to Loretta Young. However, he is chiefly remembered for the iconic gowns, designed for Marilyn Monroe's famous hourglass shape in eight of her most popular films. These include her sexy satin number from How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), the gold lame dress with the sun ray pleats glimpsed in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) and, subsequently, at the 1953 Photoplay Awards (over Travilla's objections); and, of course, the white cocktail dress famously uplifted above the subway grate in The Seven Year Itch (1955). One of three versions of the latter sold at auction for $ 4.6 million in 2011. Despite their close working relationship, Travilla later went on record describing Marilyn on a personal level as 'childlike' and plagued by feelings of inadequacy.
After his contract with Fox expired in 1956, Travilla tended to his own exclusive label, designing a collection of ready-to-wear 'California' fashion. In the 1960's, he continued to freelance, working primarily for television. He showed off a young Connie Sellecca to great effect in a murder mystery revolving around the fashion industry, fittingly titled She's Dressed to Kill (1979). Ever synonymous with a bygone era of glamour, he went on to win two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Costume Design for The Scarlett O'Hara War (1980) and for Dallas (1978). An exhibition of his personal collection, under the auspices of his longtime collaborator William Sarris, went on a world tour in 2008.
Found unfit for wartime duties due to flat feet, William Travilla made his way to Hollywood and signed his first contract as costume designer at Columbia in 1941. However, during his two-year tenure he received rather few assignments and left disillusioned. Little work came his way during the next few years, until, in 1946, he was spotted in a nightclub (selling travel sketches of the South Pacific) by the actress Ann Sheridan, who became an instant admirer of his work. Sheridan persuaded Travilla to become her personal costume designer at Warner Brothers. This didn't quite come to pass, though he did design her gowns for Nora Prentiss (1947). More importantly, he notched up his first major success by winning the Academy Award for the lavish and colourful costumes of Adventures of Don Juan (1948) in conjunction with Leah Rhodes and Marjorie Best. After his three year contract was up, Travilla went on to 20th Century Fox, for what would become the most productive period of his career in the film business. At the same time, he set up his own high end fashion salon, Travilla Inc., in Los Angeles, creating several collections of elegant, award-winning designs.
Travilla dressed many established stars, from Marlene Dietrich and Joan Crawford, to Loretta Young. However, he is chiefly remembered for the iconic gowns, designed for Marilyn Monroe's famous hourglass shape in eight of her most popular films. These include her sexy satin number from How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), the gold lame dress with the sun ray pleats glimpsed in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) and, subsequently, at the 1953 Photoplay Awards (over Travilla's objections); and, of course, the white cocktail dress famously uplifted above the subway grate in The Seven Year Itch (1955). One of three versions of the latter sold at auction for $ 4.6 million in 2011. Despite their close working relationship, Travilla later went on record describing Marilyn on a personal level as 'childlike' and plagued by feelings of inadequacy.
After his contract with Fox expired in 1956, Travilla tended to his own exclusive label, designing a collection of ready-to-wear 'California' fashion. In the 1960's, he continued to freelance, working primarily for television. He showed off a young Connie Sellecca to great effect in a murder mystery revolving around the fashion industry, fittingly titled She's Dressed to Kill (1979). Ever synonymous with a bygone era of glamour, he went on to win two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Costume Design for The Scarlett O'Hara War (1980) and for Dallas (1978). An exhibition of his personal collection, under the auspices of his longtime collaborator William Sarris, went on a world tour in 2008.
Movies & Shows on Plex
Travilla Filmography
| 1974 | Dinah! (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1950 | You Bet Your Life (TV Series) · as Self - Dress Designer |
| 1985 | My Wicked, Wicked Ways: The Legend of Errol Flynn · as Costume Designer |
| 1985 | Berrenger's (TV Series) · as Costume Designer |
| 1983 | The Thorn Birds (TV Series) · as Costume Design |
| 1981 | Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy · as Costume Design |
| 1981 | Evita Peron · as Costume Design |
| 1980 | The Silent Lovers · as Costume Design |
| 1980 | The Scarlett O'Hara War · as Costume Design |
| 1980 | This Year's Blonde · as Costume Design |
| 1980 | Cabo Blanco · as Costume Design |
| 1979 | Knots Landing (TV Series) · as Costume Designer |
| 1979 | She's Dressed to Kill · as Costume Design |
| 1978 | Dallas (TV Series) · as Costume Designer |
| 1970 | WUSA · as Costume Designer |
| 1969 | Daddy's Gone A-Hunting · as Costume Designer |
| 1968 | The Big Cube · as Costume Designer |
| 1968 | The Boston Strangler · as Costume Supervisor |
| 1968 | The Secret Life of an American Wife · as Costume Design |
| 1967 | Valley of the Dolls · as Costume Design |
| 1963 | Take Her, She's Mine · as Costume Design |
| 1963 | Mary, Mary · as Costume Designer |
| 1963 | The Stripper · as Costume Design |
| 1960 | From the Terrace · as Costume Design |
| 1958 | Shirley Temple's Storybook (TV Series) · as Costume Designer |
| 1957 | The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown · as Costume Designer |
| 1956 | 23 Paces to Baker Street · as Costume Design |
| 1956 | Bus Stop · as Costume Design |
| 1956 | The Bottom of the Bottle · as Costume Design |
| 1956 | The Revolt of Mamie Stover · as Costume Design |
| 1956 | The Proud Ones · as Costume Design |
| 1956 | The Lieutenant Wore Skirts · as Costume Design |
| 1955 | The Rains of Ranchipur · as Costume Design |
| 1955 | The Tall Men · as Costume Design |
| 1955 | Gentlemen Marry Brunettes · as Costume Designer |
| 1955 | The Left Hand of God · as Costume Design |
| 1955 | How to Be Very, Very Popular · as Costume Design |
| 1955 | The Seven Year Itch · as Costume Design |
| 1955 | White Feather · as Costume Design |
| 1954 | There's No Business Like Show Business · as Costume Design |
| 1954 | Black Widow · as Costume Design |
| 1954 | Broken Lance · as Costume Design |
| 1954 | The Raid · as Costume Design |
| 1954 | The Gambler from Natchez · as Costume Designer |
| 1954 | Garden of Evil · as Costume Design |
| 1954 | Princess of the Nile · as Costume Design |
| 1954 | River of No Return · as Costume Design |
| 1954 | The Rocket Man · as Costume Designer |
| 1954 | Hell and High Water · as Costume Designer |
| 1954 | Three Young Texans · as Costume Design |
| 1953 | Man in the Attic · as Costume Design |
| 1953 | King of the Khyber Rifles · as Costume Design |
| 1953 | How to Marry a Millionaire · as Costume Design |
| 1953 | Appointment in Honduras · as Costume Design |
| 1953 | The Loretta Young Show (TV Series) · as Costume Designer |
| 1953 | Gentlemen Prefer Blondes · as Costume Design |
| 1953 | Pickup on South Street · as Costume Design |
| 1953 | The Farmer Takes a Wife · as Costume Design |
| 1953 | Powder River · as Costume Design |
| 1953 | The Girl Next Door · as Costume Design |
| 1952 | Down Among the Sheltering Palms · as Costume Designer |
| 1952 | Bloodhounds of Broadway · as Costume Design |
| 1952 | The Pride of St. Louis · as Costume Designer |
| 1952 | Monkey Business · as Costume Designer |
| 1952 | Dreamboat · as Costume Design |
| 1952 | Don't Bother to Knock · as Costume Design |
| 1952 | Lydia Bailey · as Costume Designer |
| 1952 | Viva Zapata! · as Costume Design |
| 1951 | Meet Me After the Show · as Costume Design |
| 1951 | Take Care of My Little Girl · as Costume Designer |
| 1951 | The Day the Earth Stood Still · as Costume Design |
| 1951 | Half Angel · as Costume Designer |
| 1951 | On the Riviera · as Costume Design |
| 1951 | Rawhide · as Costume Design |
| 1951 | Bird of Paradise · as Costume Design |
| 1950 | American Guerrilla in the Philippines · as Costume Design |
| 1950 | Mister 880 · as Costume Design |
| 1950 | I'll Get By · as Costume Design |
| 1950 | The Gunfighter · as Costume Design |
| 1950 | No Way Out · as Costume Design |
| 1950 | Panic in the Streets · as Costume Design |
| 1950 | The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady · as Costume Design |
| 1950 | Mother Didn't Tell Me · as Costume Design |
| 1950 | When Willie Comes Marching Home · as Costume Design |
| 1949 | The Inspector General · as Costume Design |
| 1949 | Dancing in the Dark · as Costume Design |
| 1949 | Look for the Silver Lining · as Costume Design |
| 1949 | Flamingo Road · as Costume Design |
| 1948 | Adventures of Don Juan · as Costume Supervisor |
| 1948 | Two Guys from Texas · as Costume Design |
| 1948 | Silver River · as Costume Designer |
| 1947 | My Wild Irish Rose · as Costume Design |
| 1947 | Escape Me Never · as Costume Design |
| 1947 | That Hagen Girl · as Costume Designer |
| 1947 | Love and Learn · as Wardrobe Designer |
| 1947 | Cry Wolf · as Costume Design |
| 1947 | The Unfaithful · as Costume Designer |
| 1947 | Nora Prentiss · as Costume Design |
| 1946 | The Beast with Five Fingers · as Wardrobe Designer |
| 1943 | The Woman of the Town · as Costume Design |
| 1943 | The Desperadoes · as Costume Design |
| 1941 |