Patricia Zipprodt (February 24, 1925 – July 17, 1999) was an American

costume designer A costume designer is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show. The role of the costume designer is to create the characters' outfits or costumes and balance the scenes with texture and colour, etc. The costume ...

. She was known for her technique of painting fabrics and thoroughly researching a project's subject matter, especially when it was a

period piece A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swas ...

. During a career that spanned four decades, she worked with such

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

legends as

Jerome Robbins Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television. Among his nu ...

Harold Prince Harold Smith Prince (born Harold Smith; January 30, 1928 – July 31, 2019), commonly known as Hal Prince, was an American theatre director and producer known for his work in musical theatre. One of the foremost figures in 20th century America ...

Gower Champion Gower Carlyle Champion (June 22, 1919 – August 25, 1980) was an American actor, theatre director, choreographer, and dancer. Early years Champion was born on June 22, 1919, in Geneva, Illinois, as the son of John W. Champion and Beatrice Car ...

, David Merrick, and

Bob Fosse Robert Louis Fosse (; June 23, 1927 – September 23, 1987) was an American actor, choreographer, dancer, and film and stage director. He directed and choreographed musical works on stage and screen, including the stage musicals ''The Pajam ...

Biography

Born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Zipprodt attended Bradford Junior College for her freshman year and then transferred to Wellesley College, where she abandoned her plan to become a medical illustrator and concentrated on

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...

and

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

. After graduation, she moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and, after seeing a performance by the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...

, decided to use her artistic talent for a career in costume design. She studied at the

Fashion Institute of Technology The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a public college in New York City. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) and focuses on art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry. ...

and

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

d with

Charles James Charles James may refer to: * Charles James (British Army officer) (1757/8–1821), English army officer and writer * Charles James (attorney) (born 1954), former U.S. assistant attorney general * Charles James (American football) (born 1990), Amer ...

and

Irene Sharaff Irene Sharaff (January 23, 1910 – August 16, 1993) was an American costume designer for stage and screen. Her work earned her five Academy Awards and a Tony Award. Sharaff is universally recognized as one of the greatest costume designers of ...

. Her first Broadway credit was ''

The Potting Shed ''The Potting Shed'' is a 1957 play by Graham Greene in three acts. The psychological drama centers on a secret held by the Callifer family for nearly thirty years. The patriarch of the family is dying and James, his estranged son, appears une ...

'', a play by

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

, in 1957. She went on to design more than 50 productions over the next 43 years. In 1992, she was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame. She also designed for the New York City Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet, the

Houston Ballet Houston Ballet, operated by Houston Ballet Foundation, is a professional ballet company based in Houston, Texas. The company, consisting of 59 dancers, produces over 85 performances per year. History Tatiana Semenova (1955–1967) Houston dev ...

, American Ballet Theatre, the

New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, du ...

, and the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...

. She designed costumes and masks for the long-running off-Broadway production of the Jean Genet play '' The Blacks'' in the early 1960s. Zipprodt's

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

credits include ''

The Graduate ''The Graduate'' is a 1967 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols and written by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from W ...

'', ''

Last of the Mobile Hot Shots ''Last of the Mobile Hot Shots'' is a 1970 American drama film. The screenplay by Gore Vidal is based on the Tennessee Williams play ''The Seven Descents of Myrtle'', which opened on Broadway in March 1968 and ran for 29 performances. Sidney Lum ...

'', and ''

1776 Events January–February * January 1 – American Revolutionary War – Burning of Norfolk: The town of Norfolk, Virginia is destroyed, by the combined actions of the British Royal Navy and occupying Patriot forces. * Januar ...

''. She designed television adaptations of ''

The Glass Menagerie ''The Glass Menagerie'' is a memory play by Tennessee Williams that premiered in 1944 and catapulted Williams from obscurity to fame. The play has strong autobiographical elements, featuring characters based on its author, his Histrionic persona ...

'', '' Alice in Wonderland'', and '' Sunday in the Park with George''. In 1946, following her graduation from Wellesley, Zipprodt had returned to Chicago, where she met Lieut. Col. Robert O'Brien Jr. He proposed, but she declined because she wanted to pursue a career. More than forty years later, the retired and widowed O'Brien saw her

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

in '' Playbill'' and contacted her via

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , ...

, where she was an artist in residence.Van Gelder, Lawrenc
Patricia Zipprodt, 74, Costume Designer"
''New York Times'', July 19, 1999 In 1983, Zipprodt received a Tony Award nomination for her work on ''Alice in Wonderland'', produced by

The Mirror Theater Ltd The Mirror Theater was founded by Sabra Jones in 1983, who was also the Founding Artistic Director. The first program of the theater was the Mirror Repertory Company (MRC). Founding members of the company included Eva Le Gallienne, John Stras ...

’s Sabra Jones. Zipprodt’s designs were exact recreations of the

John Tenniel Sir John Tenniel (; 28 February 182025 February 1914)Johnson, Lewis (2003), "Tenniel, John", ''Grove Art Online, Oxford Art Online'', Oxford University Press. Web. Retrieved 12 December 2016. was an English illustrator, graphic humorist and poli ...

drawings for the original publication of the book ''Alice in Wonderland''.

Death

Colonel O'Brien and Zipprodt were married on June 5, 1993 and remained married until his death in 1998. Zipprodt died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

on July 17, 1999 at her home in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

. She was 74 years old.

Productions

*''

Miss Lonelyhearts ''Miss Lonelyhearts'' is a novella by Nathanael West. He began writing it early in 1930 and completed the manuscript in November 1932. Published in 1933, it is an Expressionist black comedy set in New York City during the Great Depression. It is ...

'' (1957) *''

Sunday in New York ''Sunday in New York'' is a 1963 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Tewksbury and starring Jane Fonda, Rod Taylor and Cliff Robertson. Filmed in Metrocolor, its screenplay was written by Norman Krasna on the basis of his own 1961 ...

'' (1961) *''

She Loves Me ''She Loves Me'' is a musical with a book by Joe Masteroff, music by Jerry Bock, and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. The musical is the third adaptation of the 1937 play '' Parfumerie'' by Hungarian playwright Miklós László, following the 194 ...

'' (1963) *'' Fiddler on the Roof'' (1964) *'' Anya'' (1965) *''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining o ...

'' (1966) *''

The Little Foxes ''The Little Foxes'' is a 1939 play by Lillian Hellman, considered a classic of 20th century drama. Its title comes from Chapter 2, Verse 15 of the Song of Solomon in the King James version of the Bible, which reads, "Take us the foxes, the lit ...

'' (1967) *''

Plaza Suite ''Plaza Suite'' is a comedy play by Neil Simon. Plot The play is composed of three acts, each involving different characters but all set in Suite 719 of New York City's Plaza Hotel. The first act, ''Visitor From Mamaroneck'', introduces the au ...

'' (1968) *'' Zorba'' (1968) *''

'' (1969) *'' Georgy'' (1970) *''

Pippin Pippin or Pepin may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Pippin (comics), ''Pippin'' (comics), a children's comic produced from 1966 to 1986 * Pippin (musical), ''Pippin'' (musical), a Broadway musical by Stephen Schwartz loosely based on the life ...

'' (1972) *'' Mack & Mabel'' (1974) *''

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

'' (1975) * '' The Leaves Are Fading'' (ballet by Antony Tudor, ABT, 1975) *''

Poor Murderer ''Poor Murderer'' is a play written by Pavel Kohout that premiered at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on Broadway on 20 October 1976 and closed on 2 January 1977 after 87 performances. Setting The time is 1900, and it takes place in the great hall o ...

'' (1976) *''

King of Hearts The king of hearts is a playing card in the standard 52-card deck. King of Hearts may also refer to: Games * The King of Hearts Has Five Sons, card game that may have been a precursor to Cluedo Books * King of Hearts (''Alice's Adventures ...

'' (1978) *'' Fools'' (1981) *''

Brighton Beach Memoirs ''Brighton Beach Memoirs'' is a semi-autobiographical play by Neil Simon, the first chapter in what is known as his Eugene trilogy. It precedes ''Biloxi Blues'' and ''Broadway Bound''. Productions ''Brighton Beach Memoirs'' had a pre-Broadway e ...

'' (1983) *'' Alice in Wonderland'' (1983) *'' Sweet Charity'' (1986) *''

Into the Woods ''Into the Woods'' is a 1987 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. T ...

'' (1987) *''

Jerome Robbins' Broadway ''Jerome Robbins' Broadway'' is an anthology comprising musical numbers from shows that were either directed or choreographed by Jerome Robbins. The shows represented include, for example, '' The King and I'', '' On the Town'' and ''West Side Stor ...

'' (1989) *'' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' (1990) *'' Shogun: The Musical'' (1990) *''

The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. Miller wrote the play as ...

'' (1991) *''

My Favorite Year ''My Favorite Year'' is a 1982 American comedy film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by Richard Benjamin and written by Norman Steinberg and Dennis Palumbo from a story written by Palumbo. The film tells the story of a young comedy writ ...

'' (1992) *''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play '' Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons ...

'' (1993)

Awards and nominations

*1997 Theatre Development Fund's Irene Sharaff Award for Lifetime Achievement in Costume Design (winner) *1994 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design (''My Fair Lady'', nominee) *1991 Induction into the

American Theater Hall of Fame The American Theater Hall of Fame in New York City was founded in 1972. Earl Blackwell was the first head of the organization's Executive Committee. In an announcement in 1972, he said that the new ''Theater Hall of Fame'' would be located in the ...

*1991 Tony Award for Best Costume Design (''Shogun'', nominee) *1991 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costumes (''Shogun'', winner) *1986 Tony Award for Best Costume Design (''Sweet Charity'', winner) *1984 Tony Award for Best Costume Design (''Sunday in the Park with George'', nominee) *1984 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design (''Sunday in the Park with George'', nominee) *1983 Tony Award for Best Costume Design (''Alice in Wonderland'', nominee) *1983 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design (''Alice in Wonderland'', nominee) *1981 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design (''Fools'', nominee) *1979 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design (''King of Hearts'', winner) *1976 Tony Award for Best Costume Design (''Chicago'', nominee) *1975 Tony Award for Best Costume Design (''Mack & Mabel'', nominee) *1973 Tony Award for Best Costume Design (''Pippin'', nominee) *1973 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design (''Pippin'', winner) *1971 Wellesley's Alumnae Achievement Award (winner) *1969 Tony Award for Best Costume Design (''Zorba'', nominee) *1969 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design (''1776'', winner) *1969 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design (''Zorba'', winner) *1967 Tony Award for Best Costume Design (''Cabaret'', winner) *1965 Tony Award for Best Costume Design (''Fiddler on the Roof'', winner)

Notes

References

* *

External links

* *
Patricia Zipprodt papers and designs, 1925-1999
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zipprodt, Patricia 1925 births 1999 deaths American costume designers Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Drama Desk Award winners Opera designers Artists from Chicago People from Manhattan Tony Award winners Wellesley College alumni Ballet designers *Patricia Zipprodt Fashion Institute of Technology alumni Women costume designers