Bernard Newman (designer)
Encyclopedia
Bernard Newman was head designer for Bergdorf Goodman
and head costume designer for RKO Pictures
. He designed costumes for some 35 movies, including costumes for Ginger Rogers
, Katharine Hepburn
, Lucille Ball
and Helen Broderick
. He was posthumously included in the Costume Designers Guild
Hall of Fame in 2004.
in 1903. He studied in Paris
and at the Art Student's League. He started working at Bergdorf Goodman
, a luxury goods department store in Manhattan, as a window dresser. He later became the head designer for Bergdorf Goodman, and his clothes were worn by film stars like Kay Francis
.
Bernard Newman started working as costume designer in the film industry from 1933 on, working mainly for RKO Pictures
for the next three years. Newman is best remembered for the costumes he designed for Ginger Rogers
in movies like Top Hat
and Swing Time
. He made a blue dress with ostrich feathers, to Rogers's specification, which she wore in the Cheek to Cheek sequence and which gave her the nickname of Feathers. 15 of his costumes for the 1935 movie Roberta
were reproduced and merchandised by the Modern Merchandising Bureau. Other films he worked on include Sylvia Scarlett
with Katharine Hepburn
and You Can't Take It with You
.
Bergdorf Goodman
Bergdorf Goodman is a luxury goods department store based on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The company was founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf and was later owned and managed by Edwin Goodman, and later his son Andrew Goodman....
and head costume designer for RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. As RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains and Joseph P...
. He designed costumes for some 35 movies, including costumes for Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
, Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
, Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
and Helen Broderick
Helen Broderick
Helen Broderick was an American film and stage actress known for her comic roles, especially as a wisecracking sidekick.-Career:...
. He was posthumously included in the Costume Designers Guild
Costume Designers Guild
The Costume Designers Guild , IATSE LOCAL 892 was founded in 1953 by a group of 30 motion picture costume designers. In 1986, the Costume Designers Guild joined the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and added Local 892 to its name...
Hall of Fame in 2004.
Biography
Bernard Newman was born in Joplin, MissouriJoplin, Missouri
Joplin is a city in southern Jasper County and northern Newton County in the southwestern corner of the US state of Missouri. Joplin is the largest city in Jasper County, though it is not the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 50,150...
in 1903. He studied in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and at the Art Student's League. He started working at Bergdorf Goodman
Bergdorf Goodman
Bergdorf Goodman is a luxury goods department store based on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The company was founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf and was later owned and managed by Edwin Goodman, and later his son Andrew Goodman....
, a luxury goods department store in Manhattan, as a window dresser. He later became the head designer for Bergdorf Goodman, and his clothes were worn by film stars like Kay Francis
Kay Francis
Kay Francis was an American stage and film actress. After a brief period on Broadway in the late 1920s, she moved to film and achieved her greatest success between 1930 and 1936, when she was the number one female star at the Warner Brothers studio, and the highest paid American film actress...
.
Bernard Newman started working as costume designer in the film industry from 1933 on, working mainly for RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. As RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains and Joseph P...
for the next three years. Newman is best remembered for the costumes he designed for Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
in movies like Top Hat
Top Hat
Top Hat is a 1935 screwball comedy musical film in which Fred Astaire plays an American dancer named Jerry Travers, who comes to London to star in a show produced by Horace Hardwick . He meets and attempts to impress Dale Tremont to win her affection...
and Swing Time
Swing Time
Swing Time is a 1936 RKO musical comedy film set mainly in New York City and stars Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Helen Broderick, Victor Moore, Eric Blore and Georges Metaxa, with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Dorothy Fields...
. He made a blue dress with ostrich feathers, to Rogers's specification, which she wore in the Cheek to Cheek sequence and which gave her the nickname of Feathers. 15 of his costumes for the 1935 movie Roberta
Roberta
Roberta is a musical from 1933 with music by Jerome Kern, and lyrics and book by Otto Harbach. The musical is based on the novel Gowns by Roberta by Alice Duer Miller...
were reproduced and merchandised by the Modern Merchandising Bureau. Other films he worked on include Sylvia Scarlett
Sylvia Scarlett
Sylvia Scarlett is a 1935 romantic comedy film starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, based on The Early Life and Adventures of Sylvia Scarlett, a novel by Compton MacKenzie. Directed by George Cukor, it was notorious as one of the most famous unsuccessful movies of the 1930s...
with Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
and You Can't Take It with You
You Can't Take It with You
You Can't Take It with You is a comedic play in three acts by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. The original production of the play opened at the Booth Theater on December 14, 1936, and played for 837 performances...
.
Filmography
- 1933: Rafter RomanceRafter RomanceRafter Romance is a 1933 RKO romantic comedy film directed by William A. Seiter. The film, which was based on the novel of the same name by John Wells, stars Ginger Rogers and Norman Foster and features George Sidney, Laura Hope Crews, Guinn Williams and Robert Benchley.-Plot:Mary Carroll is a...
- 1935: RobertaRoberta (1935 film)Roberta is a 1935 musical film by RKO starring Irene Dunne, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, and Randolph Scott. It was an adaptation of a 1933 Broadway theatre musical of the same name, which in turn was based on the novel Gowns by Roberta by Alice Duer Miller...
- 1935: Star of MidnightStar of MidnightStar of Midnight is an American mystery-comedy film released by RKO Pictures in 1935. William Powell was loaned out in this movie from MGM to star with Ginger Rogers.-Plot:...
- 1935: Break of HeartsBreak of HeartsBreak of Hearts is a 1935 RKO film starring Katharine Hepburn and Charles Boyer. The screenplay was written by the team of Sarah Y. Mason and Victor Heerman, with Anthony Veiller, from a story by Lester Cohen, specifically for Hepburn....
- 1935: The Nitwits
- 1935: Top HatTop HatTop Hat is a 1935 screwball comedy musical film in which Fred Astaire plays an American dancer named Jerry Travers, who comes to London to star in a show produced by Horace Hardwick . He meets and attempts to impress Dale Tremont to win her affection...
- 1935: I Dream Too MuchI Dream Too MuchI Dream Too Much is a 1935 romantic comedy film directed by John Cromwell. It stars Henry Fonda, Lily Pons, and Lucille Ball in one of her earliest roles. It has been described as a "somewhat wispy operetta." Songs are by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields...
- 1935: In Person
- 1935: Sylvia Scarlet
- 1935: The Lady Consents
- 1935: Two in the DarkTwo in the DarkTwo in the Dark is a 1936 mystery film starring Walter Abel, Margot Grahame, Wallace Ford, Gail Patrick, and Alan Hale. The movie, about an amnesiac suspected of murder, was directed by Benjamin Stoloff....
- 1935: Follow the FleetFollow the FleetFollow the Fleet is a 1936 Hollywood musical comedy film with a nautical theme and stars Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Randolph Scott, Harriet Hilliard, and Astrid Allwyn, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. Lucille Ball and Betty Grable also appear, in small supporting roles...
- 1936: When You're In LoveWhen You're in Love-Track listing:#"Say It Ain't So"#"You Are"#"Never Even Thought"#"When You're In Love"#"No Mystery"#"Dearest Anne"#"Maman"#"Darling 1944"#"With Or Without Me"#"Affair"#"Picking Up the Pieces"#"Los Angeles"#"Cocktail Molotov"#"Still In Love With You"...
- 1936: The Witness Chair
- 1936: The Bride Walks Out
- 1936: Swingtime
- 1936: Walking on Air
- 1936: Adventure in ManhattanAdventure in ManhattanAdventure in Manhattan is a 1936 comedy thriller film made by Columbia Pictures, and was directed by Edward Ludwig. The screenplay was written by Sidney Buchman, Harry Sauber, Jack Kirkland and John Howard Lawson . The story was written by Joseph Krumgold, based on "Purple and Fine Linen"...
- 1936: Smartest Girl in Town
- 1936: Theodora Goes WildTheodora Goes WildTheodora Goes Wild is a 1936 American romantic comedy film that tells the story of a small town which is incensed by a risqué novel, little knowing that it was written under a pseudonym by a member of the town's leading family. It stars Irene Dunne and Melvyn Douglas and was directed by Richard...
- 1936: More Than a SecretaryMore Than a SecretaryMore Than a Secretary is a 1936 romantic comedy film made by Columbia Pictures, directed by Alfred E. Green, and written by Dale Van Every and Lynn Starling. The story was adapted by Ethel Hill and Aben Kandel, based on magazine story "Safari in Manhattan" by Matt Taylor.It tells the story of a...
- 1936: History Is Made at NightHistory Is Made at Night (1937 film)History Is Made at Night is a 1937 romantic drama with elements of comedy and spectacle.It deals with a love triangle among a possessive shipping magnate, his beautiful wife, and a French headwaiter, with a spectacular ocean liner as a backdrop....
- 1937: Vivacious LadyVivacious LadyVivacious Lady is a 1938 American black-and-white romantic comedy film starring Ginger Rogers and James Stewart, produced and directed by George Stevens, and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The screenplay was written by P.J. Wolfson and Ernest Pagano and adapted from a short story by I. A. R. Wylie...
- 1938: You Can't Take It With YouYou Can't Take It with You (film)You Can't Take It With You Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. The cast includes James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore and Edward Arnold....
- 1939: Green HellGreen HellGreen Hell is a 1940 adventure film directed by James Whale with photography by Karl Freund. The cast includes Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Joan Bennett, John Howard, George Sanders, Alan Hale, Sr., Vincent Price and Ray Mala...
- 1942: Tales of ManhattanTales of ManhattanTales of Manhattan is a 1942 American anthology film directed by Julien Duvivier. Thirteen writers, including Ben Hecht, Alan Campbell, Ferenc Molnár, Samuel Hoffenstein, and Donald Ogden Stewart worked on the six stories in this film.-Cast:...
- 1946: Deception
- 1946: HumoresqueHumoresque (film)Humoresque is a 1946 Warner Bros. feature film starring Joan Crawford and John Garfield in an older woman/younger man tale about a violinist and his patroness. The screenplay by Clifford Odets and Zachary Gold was based upon a novel by Fannie Hurst...
- 1947: PossessedPossessed (1947 film)Possessed is a 1947 Warner Bros. film starring Joan Crawford, Van Heflin, and Raymond Massey in a tale about an unstable woman's obsession with her ex-lover. The screenplay by Ranald MacDougall and Silvia Richards was based upon a story by Rita Weiman. The film was directed by Curtis Bernhardt and...
- 1947: Deep ValleyDeep ValleyDeep Valley is a 1947 drama film starring Ida Lupino and Dane Clark. A young woman lives unhappily with her embittered parents in an isolated rural home until an escaped convict changes her dreary existence...
- 1947: Dark Passage
- 1947: Escape Me NeverEscape Me Never (1947 film)Escape Me Never is a 1947 American drama film directed by Peter Godfrey and starring Errol Flynn, Ida Lupino and Eleanor Parker. It was an adaptation of the play Escape Me Never by Margaret Kennedy which had previously been made into a film in 1935...
- 1947: Hazard
- 1947: The Woman in White
External links
- Bernard Newman at the IMDb