1999 HALL OF FAME

Irene Sharaff (d. 1993)

Irene Sharaff is one of the few costume designers to have worked on both stage shows and their subsequent film adaptations, including "The King and I" and "West Side Story," "The Flower Drum Song," and "Funny Girl." Her Academy Awards included "An American in Paris," "Cleopatra," "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," "The King and I," and "West Side Story." In all, Shraff received five Academy Awards and nine Academy Award nominations for her brilliant work.

Sharaff studied at the New York School of Fine and Applied Arts, the Art Students League, and Grande Chaumiere in Paris. While in Paris, she took great interest in the couture houses and developed a keen and an exacting eye for quality in the design finish of clothes, which she later demanded of her own creations.

Her first job in theater was as assistant to Aline Bernstein at the Civic Repertory Theatre Company in New York. In 1932, Sharaff designed for its production of "Alice in Wonderland," winning the Donaldson Award for both her costumes and scenery designs. With that, her career took off and she spent the next ten years designing for many broadway shows and ballets, including Roger and Hart's "On Your Toes."

In 1942, Sharaff was contracted by MGM and asked to design for its musicals. Moving to Hollywood, her reputation was established with the success of MGM's "Meet Me in St. Louis." She went on to create the costume designs for "Guys and Dolls," "Brigadoon," "Porgy and Bess," and "A Star is Born."

Great elegance and a meticulous attention to detail reveal Irene Sharaff to be a designer of enormous depth and intelligence. Equally secure with contemporary or period costume, her work exemplifies the best of costume design. Sharaff will be immortalized for her contribution to the great American musical theater.

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