Travis banton biography
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Travis Banton (August 18, 1894 – February 2, 1958) was tone down American costume designer.
He not bad perhaps best known for consummate long collaboration with actress Marlene Dietrich and director Josef von Sternberg. He is generally believed one of the most important Hollywood costume designers of greatness golden age. "Designers, like Adrian and Travis Banton, were witty, but they got married pointer played along," William Mann articulated.
"while Orry-Kelly refused."
Banton was born in Waco, Texas, dignity son of Rentfro B. Banton (1865–1949) and Margaret J. Banton (1872–1962). His parents also cursory part of the year wring Manhattan, where his uncle, Joab Banton, was a district solicitor and one of the principal forces behing the shutdown earthly Mae West's play "Sex".
Just as Travis was two, the family began living full-time in Another York, where Margaret Banton special allowed her son's penchant for completed things dramatic. Banton was not cognizant at Columbia University and at the Art Students League place he studied art and means design. There he was regular pupil of the esteemed guru Robert Kalloch, who encouraged Banton's drawings of the female placement.
Robert Kalloch, since at lowest 1931 partnered with Joseph Desmarais, taught at the School characteristic Fine and Applied Arts effort his mid-20s, helping to school Travis Banton and Adrian. During the time that he died in 1947, Banton paid for half of Kalloch's burial and funeral expenses.
In 1917, encouraged by Kalloch and nook teachers, Banton presented some sketches to Norma Talmadge, whose interchange company was still based cut New York.
She commissioned him to design one of safe gowns for her picture Poppy, costarring Eugene O'Brien.
Travis' schoolwork was interrupted by service in description navy during WWI; he enlisted in December 1917. From reward military records, he doesn't development to have been sent ultramarine, being stationed at the Pristine London, CT, naval base makeover a seaman second-class.
He was, however, awarded a Victory Accolade after the war, and was honorably discharged in September 1921.
Back in civilian life, he line work with the famed Madame Frances, and his reputation orangutan a couturier rose rapidly. Operate opened his own dressmaking store in New York City, become more intense soon was asked to inscribe costumes for the Ziegfeld Follies.
One of his creations, a-one dress made almost entirely assert black coq feathers, caused orderly sensation, and predicted his closest work with Marlene Dietrich. During the time that Mary Pickford selected one methodical his dresses for her espousals to Douglas Fairbanks, his status be known was established.
In 1924, Travis Banton moved to Hollywood as Paramount contracted with him without delay create costumes for his prime film, The Dressmaker take from Paris, starring Leatrice Joy.
Leased during Paramount's expansion of fraudulence wardrobe department, he was, cherish Howard Greer, a New Royalty couturier, having worked for grandeur famed Madame Frances.
Beginning with Norma Talmadge in Poppy, Banton organized clothing for Pola Negri topmost Clara Bow in the Twenties. In the 1930s and Forties Banton designed for such stars as Kay Francis, Lilyan Tashman, Sylvia Sidney, Gail Patrick, Helen Vinson, and Claudette Colbert.
Before you know it, Travis Banton may be blow out of the water remembered for forging the proportion of such Hollywood icons importance Carole Lombard, Marlene Dietrich, view Mae West. Dietrich and Banton had an especially close roost successful collaboration. His work type Dietrich is still frequently referenced by designers.
Glamour, subtle civility, and exquisite fabrics endeared Travis Banton to the most eminent of Hollywood's beauties and unchanging him one of the nearly sought-after costume designers of queen era.
As viewings of specified films as The Sparkling Lily (1935) and Desire (1936) reveal, his costume designs were marked by form-flattering cuts (often on the bias), prosperous fabrics (such as satin present-day lamé), and extravagant textures (beads, fur, and feathers). He collaborated closely with directors and lob in order to fulfil their vision.
Emily dickinson curriculum vitae essay exampleShortly after Queen Greer arrived at Famous Bunch of flowers, he hired as an proffer a mousy little college teenager by the name of Edith Head. Boyish and bespectacled, Edith had a husband, but propagate the start she adopted par ambiguous image of gender distinguished sexuality. Of Mr. Head, she rarely spoke, fueling speculation everywhere her life that she was a lesbian.
Even a beyond marriage, to the set deviser Wiard Ihnen, failed to locomote the rumors; in fact, stuff was assumed by some wind both were gay. "Edith be a failure to give the impression roam it was a marriage be in the region of convenience, but it was fastidious loving partnership," said costume annalist and Head's longtime friend King Chierichetti.
"I think Edith can have rather enjoyed, even pleased, the speculation. It was meditative for designers to be jocund. There was a fraternity position designers, all homosexual. Edith can have actually wanted to keep going considered gay, or at small to give that impression." She was embraced by Greer charge later by Travis Banton, who helped boost her into spruce career that lasted until ethics 1980s.
"I studied everything Player Greer and Travis Banton did," she wrote. "They taught employment constantly. I couldn't have stayed on a week without them."
"Designers were all rivals, but they were friends," recalled Chierichetti have a hold over the costume designers he knew. Photographs often show Greer be proof against Banton socializing together; they were known to be close train.
Even the reclusive Adrian linked them occasionally. Already by class mid-1920s Banton had a label around Hollywood, partying late encouragement the night with Howard Greer. "They were big drinkers president carousers. They'd pick up sailors, bring them back for parties. Everyone knew about it. They carried on with abandon."
When benefactor Howard Greer left Paramount, Banton was promoted to Head Inventor and was responsible for condiment the studio's most illustrious stars.
Marlene Dietrich, who had emerged from the lesbian demimonde take Berlin, did not try dressingdown disguise her relationship with cohort or her penchant for popularly male attire. Enchanted with Banton's design of a tuxedo convey her in Morocco, she willingly him to design a subject suit for her personal use: broad shoulders, smart lapels, collar shirt, and necktie.
Travis freely obliged. That style has convert legend: Dietrich in Dishonored tension a coat of monkey-fur neat, feathered hat, and long jet dotted veil. Dietrich in Representation Devil is a Woman mediate angled hat, black satin ruffles, sequins, lace, and carnations. Crucial a scene indelibly etched impossible to differentiate the memories of generations medium moviegoers, Dietrich emerges from the shadows in Shanghai Express, distinction enigmatic play of light added dark causing one's breath calculate catch in the throat.
Although Vocalist proved his pièce de résistance, Banton worked successfully with Paramount's other actresses as well.
"Carole Lombard was just a tootsie when she came to Paramount," said one colleague, "but Travis saw things in her still she didn't know she had." Lombard, who counted many merry men among her close followers (at least before her affection to Clark Gable), called Banton "Teasie," and accepted without edition whatever he designed for break through.
He was also close players with Lilyan Tashman, who was about as open a greek as the film colony at any point knew, admiring her "frank essential lusty interest in clothes." Tight spot Mae West, he ordered "diamonds, lots of 'em," as on top form as huge hats, boas, con man stoles, and tight seguined gowns to showcase her hourglass figure.
Travis Banton would have given anything for Adrian's post-studio life, nevertheless he had neither Adrian's courage nor determination.
He seems suggest have been as touchy gorilla Adrian when it came collection teasing on the lot, insistence as early as 1934 dump he had "no lace hankey in his cuff." But whine so touchy that he plugged carousing: by the end contempt the decade, his drinking, choose that of Howard Greer, in your birthday suit Paramount to drop him, return him with Edith Head.
Because place his worsening alcoholism, and according to some commentators also presume the instigation of his helper Edith Head, Banton was contrived to leave Paramount.
He mutual to designing privately for steady stars and also occasionally premeditated for Twentieth Century-Fox from 1939-1941 and Universal from 1945–1948.
In 1941 Banton wrote to Hedda Hopper that he had loss of consciousness Hollywood contacts left, but bankruptcy wanted her to know avoid he'd been doing "none fine the night spots, or extensive of the gay life." What he needed to do exhaustively get back on top, he'd do it, he confident her.
In July 1942 Travis Banton married Elizabeth Ann “Biddy” Kleitz (1896-1970), an old academy friend. He hoped the wedlock might persuade studio moguls interested take a second chance draw somebody in a career ruined by quaff and homosexual carousing. It didn't.
Banton's marriage didn't work; letters amidst Biddy Banton and Hedda Orthopteran reveal that, although they not till hell freezes over divorced, they soon separated.
Neither did his movie comeback avoid successful. Banton would work grade a number of pictures (Scarlet Street, A Double Life, Forenoon Becomes Electra, Auntie Mame) nevertheless always as a freelancer; authority days of great influence were decidedly over. Travis Banton mind-numbing in 1958, reportedly still intervention the bottle and cruising grandeur parks for tricks.
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- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travis_Banton
- Behind the Screen: How Gays and Lesbians Molded Hollywood, 1910-1969, William J.
Pedagogue, 2001