Freddy Wittop
Encyclopedia
Freddy Wittop was a costume design
er. He enjoyed secondary careers as a dancer and college
professor
.
Born Frederick Wittop Koning in Bussum
, the Netherlands
, Wittop emigrated with his family to Brussels
, where he apprenticed at the age of thirteen with the resident designer at the Brussels Opera. Moving to Paris
in 1931, he designed for the Folies Bergère and other music halls, creating costumes for Mistinguett
and Josephine Baker
, among others. He studied Spanish dance and, as Frederico Rey, began a professional career that led to international acclaim as he and his first partner, La Argentinita
, performed worldwide. He also toured with Jose Greco
and Tina Ramirez
.
In 1942, Wittop designed costumes for the Ice Capades
, George Abbott
's Broadway
musical
Beat the Band, and Lucille Ball
for her film melodrama
The Big Street. Soon after this, Wittop joined the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II
and served overseas for three and a half years. His service awarded him American citizenship.
Once Wittop returned to America after the war, he had a stint dressing show girls and dancers at the Latin Quarter (nightclub)
in New York City
. He then formed his own dance company in 1951 and for the next seven years toured the US and Europe
. He returned to theatre design at the behest of director Harold Clurman
, who saw his show and asked him to design his 1959 Broadway production of George Bernard Shaw
's Heartbreak House
. He actively worked in New York for the next fourteen years.
In 1973, Wittop retired to Ibiza
, where he remained for eleven years before returning to New York to work on two more projects before settling in Tequesta, Florida
. He frequently traveled to Athens, Georgia
, where he held a position as adjunct professor in the school of drama at the University of Georgia
.
Wittop died at age 89 at the JFK Medical Center in Atlantis, Florida
, shortly after being chosen as the 2001 recipient of the Theatre Development Fund's Irene Sharaff
Award for "lifetime achievement in theatrical costume design." His original sketches have been showcased in museum
s and sold in art galleries throughout the country. A considerable amount of his personal collection is retained at the University of Georgia
in the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
Costume design
Costume 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. He enjoyed secondary careers as a dancer and college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
.
Born Frederick Wittop Koning in Bussum
Bussum
Bussum is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.-History:Bussum was first mentioned in 1306. In this time, Bussum was a large heathland with many small farms, sheep pens and forests as is shown on old maps. Since Bussum is situated near the fortified town...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Wittop emigrated with his family to Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, where he apprenticed at the age of thirteen with the resident designer at the Brussels Opera. Moving to 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...
in 1931, he designed for the Folies Bergère and other music halls, creating costumes for Mistinguett
Mistinguett
Mistinguett was a French actress and singer, whose birth name was Jeanne Bourgeois. She was at one time the best-paid female entertainer in the world...
and Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker was an American dancer, singer, and actress who found fame in her adopted homeland of France. She was given such nicknames as the "Bronze Venus", the "Black Pearl", and the "Créole Goddess"....
, among others. He studied Spanish dance and, as Frederico Rey, began a professional career that led to international acclaim as he and his first partner, La Argentinita
La Argentinita
La Argentinita is the stage name of a famous dancer born Encarnación López Julvez in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Among her performances was as the Butterfly in the premiere of Federico García Lorca's El maleficio de la mariposa...
, performed worldwide. He also toured with Jose Greco
José Greco
Jose Greco was a flamenco dancer and choreographer.He was born in Montorio nei Frentani, Italy of Italian parents. He was raised in New York City from the time he was 10 years old. He began dancing in Brooklyn with his sister Norina at a young age.He made his professional dancing debut in 1937 at...
and Tina Ramirez
Tina Ramirez
Tina Ramirez is an American dancer and choreographer, best known as the Founder and Artistic Director of Ballet Hispanico, the leading Hispanic dance company in the United States.-Biography:...
.
In 1942, Wittop designed costumes for the Ice Capades
Ice Capades
The Ice Capades was a traveling entertainment show featuring theatrical performances involving ice skating. Shows often featured former Olympicand National Champion figure skaters who had retired from amateur competition....
, George Abbott
George Abbott
George Francis Abbott was an American theater producer and director, playwright, screenwriter, and film director and producer whose career spanned more than nine decades.-Early years:...
's Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
Beat the Band, and 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...
for her film melodrama
Melodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
The Big Street. Soon after this, Wittop joined the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and served overseas for three and a half years. His service awarded him American citizenship.
Once Wittop returned to America after the war, he had a stint dressing show girls and dancers at the Latin Quarter (nightclub)
Latin Quarter (nightclub)
Latin Quarter is a nightclub in New York City.The Club which originally opened in 1942 featured big name acts. In recent years it has been a focus of hip hop, reggaeton, and salsa music....
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He then formed his own dance company in 1951 and for the next seven years toured the US and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. He returned to theatre design at the behest of director Harold Clurman
Harold Clurman
Harold Edgar Clurman was a visionary American theatre director and drama critic, "one of the most influential in the United States". He was most notable as one of the three founders of the New York City's Group Theatre...
, who saw his show and asked him to design his 1959 Broadway production of George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
's Heartbreak House
Heartbreak House
Heartbreak House is a play written by George Bernard Shaw, first published in 1919 and first played at the Garrick Theatre in 1920. According to A. C. Ward, the work argues that "cultured, leisured Europe" was drifting toward destruction, and that "Those in a position to guide Europe to safety...
. He actively worked in New York for the next fourteen years.
In 1973, Wittop retired to Ibiza
Ibiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
, where he remained for eleven years before returning to New York to work on two more projects before settling in Tequesta, Florida
Tequesta, Florida
Tequesta is an incorporated village in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,273 at the 2000 census. It is the northernmost municipality in the South Florida metropolitan area, which in 2007 had an estimated population of 5,413. According to the U.S...
. He frequently traveled to Athens, Georgia
Athens, Georgia
Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...
, where he held a position as adjunct professor in the school of drama at the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
.
Wittop died at age 89 at the JFK Medical Center in Atlantis, Florida
Atlantis, Florida
Atlantis is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,005 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2005, the city had a population of 2,142.-Geography:Atlantis is located at ....
, shortly after being chosen as the 2001 recipient of the Theatre Development Fund's Irene Sharaff
Irene Sharaff
Irene Sharaff was an American costume designer for stage and screen. Her work earned her five Academy Awards and a Tony Award.- Background :...
Award for "lifetime achievement in theatrical costume design." His original sketches have been showcased in museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
s and sold in art galleries throughout the country. A considerable amount of his personal collection is retained at the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
in the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
Productions
- Wind in the Willows (1985)
- The Three MusketeersThe Three Musketeers (musical)The Three Musketeers is a musical with a book by William Anthony McGuire, lyrics by Clifford Grey and P. G. Wodehouse, and music by Rudolf Friml. It is based on the classic 1844 novel by Alexandre Dumas, père....
(1984) - Lovely Ladies, Kind GentlemenLovely Ladies, Kind GentlemenLovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen is a musical with a book by John Patrick and music and lyrics by Stan Freeman and Franklin Underwood.Based on Patrick's play and screenplay The Teahouse of the August Moon, it focuses on Capt. Fisby who, assigned the task of Americanizing the village of Tobiki on...
(1970) - A Patriot for MeA Patriot for MeA Patriot For Me is a 1965 play by the English playwright John Osborne, based on the true story of Alfred Redl. It was notable for being denied a licence for performance by the censor of the time....
(1969) - Dear WorldDear WorldDear World is a Broadway musical with a book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. With its opening, Herman became the only composer-lyricist in history to have three productions running simultaneously on Broadway...
(1969) - The Happy TimeThe Happy Time (musical)The Happy Time is a musical with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and a book by N. Richard Nash loosely based on a 1950 hit Broadway play, The Happy Time by Samuel A. Taylor, which was in turn based on stories by Robert Fontaine...
(1968) - George M!George M!George M! is a Broadway musical based on the life of George M. Cohan, the biggest Broadway star of his day who was known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway." The book for the musical was written by Michael Stewart, John Pascal, and Francine Pascal. Music and lyrics were, of course, by George M...
(1968) - Breakfast at Tiffany'sBreakfast at Tiffany's (musical)Breakfast at Tiffany's is a legendary flop in Broadway musical history. The musical is based on the Truman Capote novella and 1961 film of the same name about a free spirit named Holly Golightly...
(1966) - I Do! I Do!I Do! I Do!I Do! I Do! is a musical with a book and lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt which is based on the Jan de Hartog play The Fourposter. The two-character story spans fifty years, from 1895 to 1945, as it focuses on the ups and downs experienced by Agnes and Michael Snow throughout their...
(1966) - On a Clear Day You Can See ForeverOn a Clear Day You Can See ForeverOn a Clear Day You Can See Forever is a musical with music by Burton Lane and a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner based loosely on Berkeley Square, written in 1929 by John L. Balderston. It concerns a woman who has ESP and has been reincarnated...
(1965) - KellyKelly (musical)Kelly is a musical with a book and lyrics by Eddie Lawrence and music by Mark Charlap. It was inspired by Steve Brodie, who in 1886 claimed to have jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge and survived...
(1965) - The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd (1965)
- Bajour (1964)
- Hello, Dolly!Hello, Dolly! (musical)Hello, Dolly! is a musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder's 1938 farce The Merchant of Yonkers, which Wilder revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955....
(1964) - Subways Are For SleepingSubways Are For SleepingSubways Are for Sleeping is a musical with a book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Jule Styne. The original Broadway production played in 1961-62....
(1961) - Carnival!Carnival!Carnival is a 1961 musical with the book by Michael Stewart and music and lyrics by Bob Merrill. The musical is based on the 1953 film Lili.-Background:...
(1961)
Awards and nominations
- 1971 Tony Award (Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen, nominee)
- 1970 Tony Award (A Patriot for Me, nominee)
- 1970 Drama Desk AwardDrama Desk AwardThe Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
(A Patriot for Me, winner) - 1968 Tony Award (The Happy Time, nominee)
- 1967 Tony Award (I Do! I Do!, nominee)
- 1965 Tony Award (The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd, nominee)
- 1964 Tony Award (Hello, Dolly!, winner)