Theadora Van Runkle (born Dorothy Schweppe;Theadora Van Runkle obituary
''The Guardian'', 2011-11-11. March 27, 1928 in

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– November 4, 2011 in

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) 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 costum ...

.Theadora Van Runkle, Costume Designer, Dies at 83
''New York Times'', 2011-11-08.

Early life

She was born Dorothy Schweppe in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as the illegitimate daughter of Courtney Bradstreet Schweppe (1885-1958), a reported member of the

Schweppes Schweppes ( , ) is a soft drink brand founded in the Republic of Geneva in 1783 by the German watchmaker and amateur scientist Johann Jacob Schweppe; it is now made, bottled, and distributed worldwide by multiple international conglomerates, de ...

beverage family, and Eltsy Adair (1909-2005). The couple did not stay together, and Eltsy moved to California while Dorothy was still an infant, and raised her on her own. While in her twenties Dorothy began to call herself Theadora (which is the two parts of her name, Doro-thy, fancifully transposed) and became a department store fashion illustrator. For a month she worked as a sketch artist for Dorothy Jeakins, an Oscar-winning costume designer. Although she only worked for Jeakins for one month, soon after she departed, Jeakins called her and told her she had recommended her to work on '' Bonnie and Clyde''.

Personal life

She had two children with her first husband, Robert Lorimer Van Runkle, whom she divorced. Her second marriage to photographer Bruce McBroom also ended in divorce.

Career

The first films for which Theadora Van Runkle designed costumes were '' Bonnie and Clyde'' (1967), '' The Thomas Crown Affair'' (1968) and '' The Arrangement'' (1969), all of which starred

Faye Dunaway Dorothy Faye Dunaway (born January 14, 1941) is an American actress. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Faye Dunaway, many accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, ...

. Van Runkle also designed the gown Dunaway wore to the 1968 Oscars, as well as Dunaway's complete off-screen wardrobe at the time. Van Runkle was nominated for an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

for three of her projects: 1967's ''Bonnie and Clyde'', ''

The Godfather Part II ''The Godfather Part II'' is a 1974 American epic film, epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, loosely based on the 1969 novel ''The Godfather (novel), The Godfather'' by Mario Puzo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Cop ...

'' in 1974, and ''

Peggy Sue Got Married ''Peggy Sue Got Married'' is a 1986 American fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola starring Kathleen Turner as a woman on the verge of a divorce, who finds herself transported back to the days of her senior year in high s ...

'' in 1986. Although not nominated for her work on '' Troop Beverly Hills'', in the film, the central character (played by Shelley Long) references Van Runkle by name. After being complimented on her dress, Long declares, "It's a Van Runkle, isn't it fabulous?" In 1983, she won an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for her work on " ''Wizards and Warriors''," a fantasy TV series. She was the recipient of the Costume Designer Guild's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002.Theadora Van Runkle dies at 83; noted Hollywood costume designer
''Los Angeles Times'', 2011-11-08.

Fashion influence

Van Runkle rejected the advice of

Edith Head Edith Claire Head (née Posener, October 28, 1897 – October 24, 1981) was an American film costume designer who won a record eight Academy Awards for Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Best Costume Design between 1949 and 1973, making he ...

to "do everything in chiffon" when she started her work on ''Bonnie and Clyde''. Instead she followed her instincts to create an image of the "romantic and tragic Depression-era gangsters." At first Dunaway did not want to wear the fluid, easy to wear and pack clothing and calf-length skirts, but as soon as the movie was released "maxiskirts replaced miniskirts, the production of traditional French berets increased, and "women all around America began to search vintage stores and their grandmothers' closets for 1930s vintage pieces." Beatty's double-breasted suits, worn by his character Clyde, also brought the 1930s back in style for 1970s menswear. A similar thing happened after Van Runkle's work on ''The Thomas Crown Affair'' and ''Bullit''. She collaborated with Steve McQueen to create clothes that made McQueen "the king of cool." According to Bauer, "The costume design for both of these films had an immediate and lasting impact on fashion."

Influence on actors

Van Runkle was able to distill the character into the costume design. According to Shelley Long, who played the leading role of Phyllis Nefler in ''Troop Beverly Hills'', "When I put the dress on, I knew who Phyllis was, and that was perfect, and that had never happened to me before, where a costumer showed me who my character was."

Death

Theadora Van Runkle died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles of lung cancer on November 4, 2011. She was survived by her son, Maxim Yorick Van Runkle, her daughter, Felicity Van Runkle, and her grandson, Michael Teo Van Runkle.

Filmography

Film

* '' Bonnie and Clyde'' (1967) * '' I Love You, Alice B. Toklas'' (1968) * ''

Bullitt ''Bullitt'' is a 1968 American action thriller film directed by Peter Yates from a screenplay by Alan Trustman, Alan R. Trustman and Harry Kleiner and based on the 1963 crime novel ''Mute Witness'' by Robert L. Fish. It stars Steve McQueen, Ro ...

'' (1968) * '' A Place for Lovers'' (1968), credited as "Costume Designer for Miss Dunaway"' * '' The Thomas Crown Affair'' (1968), credited as "Wardrobe Designer for Miss Dunaway" * '' The Arrangement'' (1969) * ''

The Reivers ''The Reivers: A Reminiscence'', published in 1962, is the last novel by the American author William Faulkner. It was published a month before his death. The bestselling novel was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1963. Faulkner previou ...

'' (1969) * '' Myra Breckinridge'' (1970) * '' Johnny Got His Gun'' (1971) * '' Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies'' (1973) * '' Kid Blue'' (1973) * ''

Mame MAME (formerly an acronym of Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) is a free and open-source emulator designed to emulate the hardware of arcade games, video game consoles, old computers and other systems in software on modern personal computers and ...

'' (1974) * ''

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

'' (1976) * ''

New York, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

'' (1977) * '' Heaven Can Wait'' (1978), credited as "Costumes for Julie Christie and Dyan Cannon" * '' Same Time, Next Year'' (1978) * ''

The Jerk ''The Jerk'' is a 1979 American comedy film directed by Carl Reiner and written by Steve Martin, Carl Gottlieb, and Michael Elias (from a story by Martin and Gottlieb). This was Martin's first starring role in a feature film. The film also f ...

'' (1979) * '' Heartbeeps'' (1981), credited as "Costumes for Miss Peters" * '' S.O.B.'' (1981) * ''

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas ''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' is a musical with a book by Texas author Larry L. King and Peter Masterson and music and lyrics by Carol Hall. It is based on a story by King that was inspired by the real-life Chicken Ranch in La Grang ...

'' (1982) * '' Rhinestone'' (1984) * ''

'' (1986) * ''Wildfire'' (1988) * ''

Everybody's All-American ''Everybody's All-American'' is a novel by longtime ''Sports Illustrated'' contributor Frank Deford, published in 1981. It was made into a motion picture, directed by Taylor Hackford. Plot summary The novel tells the story of a fictional famou ...

'' (1988) * '' Troop Beverly Hills'' (1989) * '' Stella'' (1990) * '' The Butcher's Wife'' (1991) * ''

Leap of Faith In philosophy, a leap of faith is the act of belief, believing in or accepting something not on the basis of reason. The phrase is commonly associated with Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. Idiomatic usage As an idiom, ''leap of faith'' ca ...

'' (1992) * '' Kiss of Death'' (1995) * ''

Goodbye Lover ''Goodbye Lover'' is a 1998 neo-noir comedy film about a murder plot surrounding an alcoholic advertising agency worker and his adultery, adulterous wife. The film was directed by Roland Joffé, and stars Patricia Arquette, Dermot Mulroney, Don ...

'' (1998) * '' I'm Losing You'' (1998)

Television

* '' Wizards and Warriors'' (1983) * ''

White Dwarf A white dwarf is a Compact star, stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very density, dense: in an Earth sized volume, it packs a mass that is comparable to the Sun. No nuclear fusion takes place i ...

'' (1995) * ''

The Last Don ''The Last Don'' is a 1996 novel by American author Mario Puzo, best known as the author of the 1969 novel '' The Godfather''. The story follows an aging Mafia Don and his family as they try to retain power. The story alternates between the f ...

'' (1997) * ''

That Championship Season ''That Championship Season'' is a 1972 play by Jason Miller. It was the recipient of the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 1973 Tony Award for Best Play. Plot synopsis The setting is 1972 at the Coach's home in Scranton, Pennsylvania. ...

'' (1999)

References

External links

*
Theadora Van Runkle costume design drawings
Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Runkle, Theadora 1928 births 2011 deaths American fashion designers American costume designers American women costume designers Artists from Pittsburgh People from Greater Los Angeles Deaths from lung cancer in California 21st-century American women