Bernard Newman (designer)

Bernard Newman (18 November 1903 – 30 November 1966) was the head designer for Bergdorf Goodman and head costume designer for RKO Pictures. He designed costumes for some 35 movies, dressing stars including Ginger Rogers, Katharine Hepburn, Lucille Ball and Helen Broderick. He was posthumously included in the Costume Designers Guild Hall of Fame in 2004.[1]

Bernard Newman
Bernard Newman, Ginger Rogers, and a seamstress in 1935
BornNovember 18, 1903
Joplin, Missouri
DiedNovember 30, 1966
New York City, New York
OccupationCostume designer
SpouseHelen Keeler (m. 1935, div. ?)

Biography
Design for Ginger Rogers in Swing Time's "Never Gonna Dance", 1936

Bernard Newman was born in Joplin, Missouri in 1903.[2] He studied in Paris at the Art Student's League. He started working at Bergdorf Goodman, a luxury goods department store in Manhattan, as a window dresser.[1] He later became the head designer for Bergdorf Goodman,[3] and his clothes were worn by film stars like Kay Francis.[4]

Newman started working as costume designer in the film industry in 1933, mainly for RKO Pictures. In 1934, he was hired by the studio to design for the upcoming Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers film Roberta. The film took place in a Parisian fashion house and was an ideal opportunity for Newman to display his talents. The major success of Roberta secured Newman the position of head designer at RKO.[5] Fifteen of Newman's costumes for the movie were reproduced and merchandised by the Modern Merchandising Bureau.[6]

Newman's films with Ginger Rogers were his most frequent and successful collaborations in Hollywood. His designs feature in four of her popular 1930s musicals with Fred Astaire, Roberta, Top Hat, Follow the Fleet, and Swing Time.[7][8] He created a blue dress with ostrich feathers, to Rogers's specification, which she wore in the "Cheek to Cheek" sequence of Top Hat. Its tendency to shed feathers as Rogers danced earned her the nickname of "Feathers" from the film's crew and co-star Fred Astaire.[9][10] Other films he worked on include Sylvia Scarlett with Katharine Hepburn and You Can't Take It with You.[1]

Filmography
YearFilmStarring
1933Rafter RomanceGinger Rogers
1935RobertaIrene Dunne, Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire
1935Star of MidnightGinger Rogers, William Powell
1935Break of HeartsKatharine Hepburn, Charles Boyer
1935The NitwitsWheeler & Woolsey
1935Top HatFred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
1935I Dream Too MuchHenry Fonda, Lily Pons
1935In PersonGinger Rogers
1935Sylvia ScarlettKatharine Hepburn, Cary Grant
1935The Lady ConsentsAnn Harding, Herbert Marshall
1935Two in the DarkWalter Abel, Margot Grahame
1935Follow the FleetFred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
1936The Witness ChairAnn Harding, Walter Abel
1936The Bride Walks OutBarbara Stanwyck, Gene Raymond
1936Swing TimeFred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
1936Walking on AirGene Raymond, Ann Sothern
1936Adventure in ManhattanJean Arthur, Joel McCrea
1936Smartest Girl in TownGene Raymond, Ann Sothern
1936Theodora Goes WildIrene Dunne, Melvyn Douglas
1936More Than a SecretaryJean Arthur, George Brent
1936History Is Made at NightJean Arthur, Charles Boyer
1937When You're In LoveCary Grant, Grace Moore
1937Vivacious LadyGinger Rogers, Jimmy Stewart
1938You Can't Take It with YouJean Arthur, Jimmy Stewart, Lionel Barrymore
1939Green HellDouglas Fairbanks Jr., Joan Bennett
1942Tales of Manhattan
1946DeceptionBette Davis, Paul Henreid
1946HumoresqueJoan Crawford, John Garfield
1947PossessedJoan Crawford, Van Heflin
1947Deep ValleyIda Lupino, Dane Clark
1947Dark PassageHumphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall
1947Escape Me NeverErrol Flynn, Ida Lupino
1948HazardPaulette Goddard, Macdonald Carey
1948The Woman in WhiteEleanor Parker, Alexis Smith

Notes
  1. Costume Designers Guild Archived July 8, 2011, at the Wayback Machine 2004 Hall of Fame
  2. Leese, Elisabeth (1991). Costume design in the movies (2 ed.). Courier Dover Publications. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-486-26548-3. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  3. Sarah Berry in Screen style: Fashion and femininity in 1930s Hollywood page 15 (2000)
  4. Lynn Kear and John Rossman in Kay Francis: A Passionate Life and Career page 155 (2006)
  5. Gleason, Clare M. (1998). Bernard Newman: Forgotten Designer of New York and Hollywood (M.A. thesis). S.U.N.Y. Institute of Technology.
  6. Sarah Berry in Screen style: Fashion and femininity in 1930s Hollywood page 67-68 (2000)
  7. Gregory Votolato in American Design in the Twentieth Century: Personality and Performance page 45 (1995)
  8. Mueller, John (1986). Astaire Dancing - The Musical Films. London: Hamish Hamilton. p. 415. ISBN 0-241-11749-6. notes that John Harkrider designed the Swing Time Silver Sandal Set ("Never Gonna Dance") and the costumes used both on that set and on the "Bojangles of Harlem" set
  9. Turner Classic Movies on Top Hat
  10. Rogers, Ginger (1991). Ginger, My Story. New York: Harper Collins. p. 143. ISBN 0-06-018308-X. Rogers: "I designed the dress and I was going to wear it!"
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