Howard Greer

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Howard Greer (born April 16, 1886 in Rushville , Illinois , † April 7, 1974 in Culver City , California ) was an American fashion designer and costume designer for films.

Life

Rita Hayworth in a 1941 Howard Greer lamé gown

Howard Greer was born on a farm in Rushville, Illinois in 1886 and later attended high school and college in Lincoln , Nebraska . After graduating from the University of Nebraska , he began his career as a fashion illustrator for Lady Duff Gordon's fashion house Lucile Ltd. in 1916 . in Chicago and was later also responsible for the branch in New York . During the First World War he served as a soldier in France, where he later worked again in Paris for Lucile, but also for Paul Poiret and Edward Molyneux . He stayed in Europe for the next three years, making costumes for Paris and London theaters and writing regular articles on fashion for Theater Magazine . In 1921 he returned to the United States, first joining the fashion house Hickson Inc. in New York and then being responsible for the costumes of the Greenwich Village Follies. Their revue drew Hollywood's attention to him, after which he was employed as chief designer at Famous Players-Lasky from 1923. There he created costumes for Cecil B. DeMille's monumental silent film The Ten Commandments ( The Ten Commandments , 1923) as well as for silent film star Pola Negri in films such as The Spanish Dancer ( The Spanish Dancer , 1923) and Ernst Lubitsch's Das Verbotene Paradies ( Forbidden Paradise , 1924 ). Greer's assistants at the time included Travis Banton and Edith Head , who later worked very successfully as independent costume designers in Hollywood.

After a few years, Greer left the film studio that later became Paramount Pictures to devote himself entirely to his own haute couture fashion salon , which he opened near Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles in 1927 . His customers included numerous film stars, such as Greta Garbo and Rita Hayworth , for whom he designed exclusive evening and cocktail dresses . Over the years he has occasionally been entrusted as costume designer for film productions, including RKO Pictures , including Katharine Hepburn's costumes in Howard Hawks ' comedy Leopard Don't Kiss ( Bringing Up Baby , 1938). He also appeared as a costume designer for the four Irene Dunne films Ruhelose Liebe ( Love Affair , 1939), When Tomorrow Comes (1939), Meine Favoritenfrau ( My Favorite Wife , 1940) and Unfinished Business (1941). Also Ingrid Bergman's costumes in Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound ( Spellbound , 1945) come from him.

In 1951 he published his autobiography under the title Designing Male . He remained associated with haute couture until 1962. Thereupon he withdrew into retirement, which he spent in London. He died in Culver City in 1974 and was buried in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Filmography (selection)

Costumes:

literature

  • Greer, Howard . In: Elizabeth Leese: Costume Design in the Movies: An Illustrated Guide to the Work of 157 Great Designers . Dover Publications, 1991, ISBN 0-486-26548-X , p. 45.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Christopher Silvester: The Grove Book of Hollywood . Grove Press Paperback, 1998, ISBN 0-8021-3878-0 , p. 62.
personal data
SURNAME Greer, Howard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American fashion and costume designer for films
DATE OF BIRTH April 16, 1886
PLACE OF BIRTH Rushville , Illinois
DATE OF DEATH April 7th 1974
Place of death Culver City , California