Biography

Distinguished American costume designer, who worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including John Huston, William Wyler, Cecil B. DeMille and Robert Wise. Abandoned by her parents at an early age, Dorothy Jeakins was educated at schools in San Diego and Los Angeles. Early in her childhood, she demonstrated an aptitude for drawing, which won her a State of California Scholarship at the Otis Art Institute. She supplemented her studies by working as a live-in servant with local families. After submitting some very good illustrations to the Los Angeles City Planning Commission, she was taken on by the Southern California Arts Project. In 1936, Dorothy held a job in the colour department at Walt Disney studios, painting animated cells of 'Mickey Mouse' for $16 a week. Her first work in fashion design was doing layouts for Magnin's Department Store, which attracted the attention of 20th Century Fox art director Richard Day. Day then brought her to the attention of film director Victor Fleming. Before long, Dorothy was seconded to the studio wardrobe department as an illustrator under Ernest Dryden.

Her big break came when she was hired by Fleming as sketch artist for Joan of Arc (1948). Fleming liked her work so much that he promoted her to design the costumes for the picture, effectively replacing the previously designated Barbara Karinska (though both ended up sharing the Academy Award in 1949). Dorothy won her second Oscar, back-to-back, for Samson and Delilah (1949), along with the legendary Edith Head. Within a very short time, Dorothy established a reputation for sense of style and an eye for colour. She had a notable penchant for period and/or ethnic themes. She was also said to design to the specific requirement of each individual picture and director, rather than asserting her own personal stamp over the project. Throughout her subsequent career, she remained doggedly free-lance, never under long-term contract to any individual studio. Her work also encompassed theatrical costume design, notably for the Shakespearean festival in Stratford, Connecticut, and, for John Houseman on Broadway.

Dorothy Jeakins was nominated for a total of 12 Academy Awards, winning her third for The Night of the Iguana (1964). Among her best showcases are Niagara (1953) (who could ever forget Marilyn Monroes sexy red dress ?), Friendly Persuasion (1956), Elmer Gantry (1960), The Music Man (1962), The Way We Were (1973) and Young Frankenstein (1974). Her last film was John Huston's The Dead (1987), for which she used mud colours to convey the oppressive atmosphere of social life in Dublin in 1904. From 1967 to 1970, she held the position of curator of textiles at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.