2000 HALL OF FAME

Orry-Kelly (1897-1964)

High fashion, subtle style, and simplicity of palate were trademarks of Orry-Kelly, one of Warner Brothers most talented designers. Wit and temper, too, defined him and made Orry-Kelly one of the more colorful talents of his era. He designed costumes for a broad range of Warner productions in the 30's and 40's ranging from gangster movies and tough social realism films to Busby Berkeley musicals, and glamorous costume dramas.

He was also engaged at various times in projects for Fox, Universal, RKO, and MGM. During the course of his career he designed for Ingrid Bergman, Marilyn Monroe, Dolores Del Rio, Veree Teasdale and Helen Vinson. He became a favorite of Kay Francis, Ruth Chatterton and Bette Davis. Calling him her "right hand," Bette Davis relied upon his costumes to define her characters and the two enjoyed a long and devoted friendship.

Although John Kelly had studied art in his native Australia, his dream to become an actor led him across the seas to New York. At first, he eked a living from painting nightclub murals and illustrating titles for silent films. Soon, he was asked to design costumes and scenery for the Shubert reviews and for "George White's Scandals." Ethel Barrymore admired his clothes and wore them in several stage productions. And Katherine Hepburn's wardrobe in "Death Takes a Holiday" was also designed by him.

Several unsuccessful attempts to run nightclubs during the Depression took him to the West Coast. With a stage name of Orry-Kelly, he arrived in Hollywood in 1932. Cary Grant, an old friend from New York, introduced him to the head of Wardrobe for Warner Brothers, and there he stayed for eleven years. In the final years of his life, Orry-Kelly devoted much of his time to designing for Film Musicals. Orry-Kelly won Academy Awards in 1951 for "An American in Paris," which he shared with Walter Plunkett and Irene Sharaff), in 1957 for "Les Girls," in 1959 for "Some Like it Hot" and in 1962 for "Gypsy."

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