“She was the easiest person I ever worked with.” William Travilla on Marilyn Monroe.
William “Bill” Travilla, known professionally as “Travilla” was an American costume designer for theatre, film and television. Marilyn fans will know him best as being the head costume designer on eight of her films:
Monkey Business (1952)
Don’t Bother to Knock (1952)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)
There’s No Business Like Show Business (1954)
River of No Return (1954)
Seven Year Itch (1955)
Bus Stop (1956)
“She was so childlike she could do anything, and you could forgive as you would forgive a seven year old. She was both a woman and a baby, and both men and women adored her.”
The admiration for Marilyn was clearly reciprocated, as Monroe once autographed a nude calendar for him with the words:
“Billy Dear, please dress me forever. I love you, Marilyn”
Travilla had a long and varied career spanning more than 4 decades, he created some of the most iconic looks in film and television and was nominated for an Academy Award four times, eventually winning in 1950 for his work on “The Adventures of Don Juan.”
Travilla passed away on November 2nd 1990 aged 70.
Remembering the dashing William Powell on the anniversary of his passing. Powell had a long and varied career in Hollywood starring alongside Carole Lombard, Jean Harlow and most famously, Myrna Loy in the “Thin Man” series. He is probably best remembered by Marilyn fans for his co-starring role in “How toMarry a Millionaire.”
Marilyn Monroe, William Powell and Lauren Bacall in “How To Marry A Millionaire.”
Between takes on “How To Marry A Millionaire.”
L-R William Powell, Milton H. Greene and Marilyn Monroe
*Marilyn attending her one and only Academy Awards Ceremony as the presenter of the “Best Sound Mixing Award.” The host for the night was Fred Astaire.*
This coming weekend sees the 91st Academy Awards Ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.
Marilyn only ever attended one Oscar Award Ceremony and that was on March 29th 1951. Held at the Pantages Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, Marilyn presented the ‘Best Sound Mixing Award’ to Thomas Moulton, for his work in “All About Eve” which Marilyn also had a supporting role in.
“All About Eve” would go on to win a further 5 Awards and was nominated a staggering 14 times. “All About Eve” received more nominations than any other film in Oscar History, until 1997 when “Titanic” tied the record. Marilyn surely must have felt an enormous sense of pride to have been involved (no matter how small a part she had) in such a highly respected and multi award winning movie.
Marilyn wore an evening gown of black tulle by desginer Charles LeMaire. The extremely low-cut sweetheart neckline was obscured with a layer of tulle that could be worn up over the shoulders, or pulled down. Clusters of sequins brightened up the many yards of fabric that made up the skirt. Shortly before taking the stage, Marilyn noticed that the skirt was torn. She panicked and while Jane Greer, Debra Paget and Gloria DeHaven soothed her nerves, a seamstress rushed over and repaired the damage. The gown was a hand-me-down, originally worn by Valentia Cortese in ‘The House on Telegraph Hill,’ filmed several months before this event.
Although Marilyn herself as an Actress would never go on to win, or even be nominated for an Academy Award, some of her feature films were:
The Academy Awards 1961 LET’S MAKE LOVE
NOMINATED:
“Best Music/ Scoring of an Original Picture- Lionel Newman and Earle Hagen.”
The Academy Awards 1960 SOME LIKE IT HOT
WON:
“Best Costume Design, Black and White.”
NOMINATED:
“Best Actor in a Leading Role- Jack Lemmon.”
“Best Director- Billy Wilder.”
“Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium- Billy Wilder, I.A.L Diamond.”
“Best Cinematography, Black and White- Charles Lang.”
“Best Art Direction-Set Direction, Black and White- Ted Haworth and Edward G. Boyle.”
The Academy Awards 1957 BUS STOP
NOMINATED:
“Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Don Muray.”
The Academy Awards 1955 THERE’S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS
NOMINATED:
“Best Writing/Motion Picture Story- Lamar Trotti.”
“Best Costume Design-Colour- Travilla, Charles Le Maire and Miles White.”
The Academy Awards 1954 HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE
NOMINATED:
“Best Costume Design- Colour- Travilla and Charles Le Maire.”
The 1951 Academy Awards ALL ABOUT EVE
WON:
“Best Picture- Darryl F. Zanuck.”
“Best Director- Joseph L. Mankiewicz.”
“Best Actor in a Supporting Role- George Sanders.”
“Best Writing/Screenplay – Joseph L. Mankiewicz.”
“Best Costume Design Black and White- Charles Le Maire and Edith Head.”
“Best Sound Recording- Thomas T. Moulton.”
NOMINATED:
“Best Actress in a Leading Role- Bette Davis.”
“Best Actress in a Leading Role- Anne Baxter.”
“Best Actress in a Supporting Role- Celeste Holm.”
“Best Actress in a Supporting Role- Thelma Ritter.”
“Best Cinematography, Black-and-White- Milton S. Kranser.”
“Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White- George W. Davis, Thomas Little, Walter M. Scott, Lyle R. Wheeler.”
“Best Film Editing- Barbara MaClean.”
“Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture- Alfred Newman.”
The 1951 Academy Awards
THE ASPHALT JUNGLE
NOMINATED
“Best Actor in a Supporting Role- Sam Jaffe”
“Best Director-John Huston”
“Best Writing, Screenplay-Ben Maddow and John Huston”
“Best Cinematography, Black-and-White”
Sources:
“Marilyn In Fashion: The Enduring Influence Of Marilyn Monroe” by Christopher Nickens and George Zeno.
Happy Birthday David Wayne! (January 30th 1914 – 9th February 1995.)
David Wayne was an American stage and screen actor with a career spanning over 50 years. Marilyn fans will recognise him as being her most frequent co-star, sharing the billing with Marilyn in no less than 4 of her movies: “As Young As You Feel” “We’re Not Married!” “O Henry’s Full House” “How To Marry A Millionaire”
With little or no screen time shared in “As Young As You Feel” and “O Henry’s Full House,” they were on screen lovers in “We’re Not Married!” and “How To Marry A Millionaire.”
Wayne was quoted as saying (on her performance in “How To Marry A Millionaire”) “Negulesco (the Director) was very good with her and handled her beautifully. Of course she was always late, but I don’t think either Betty Grable or Lauren Bacall minded her. They were tough old pros and knew their business. There again, I also recall Marilyn being quite capable in her scenes with the other two girls. I wasn’t necessarily in the scene with them, but I’d sit next to Negulesco and watch the three of them work and by that time I thought that Marilyn had got a little technique under her belt.”
Happy birthday David!
Monroe and Wayne on the set of “How To Marry A Millionaire.”
Monroe and Wayne on the set of “We’re Not Married.”
Marilyn wore an evening gown of black tulle by desginer Charles LeMaire. The extremely low-cut sweetheart neckline was obscured with a layer of tulle that could be worn up over the shoulders, or pulled down. Clusters of sequins brightened up the many yards of fabric that made up the skirt. Shortly before taking the stage, Marilyn noticed that the skirt was torn. She panicked and while Jane Greer, Debra Paget and Gloria DeHaven soothed her nerves, a seamstress rushed over and repaired the damage. The gown was a hand-me-down, originally worn by Valentia Cortese in ‘The House on Telegraph Hill,’ filmed several months before this event.
