January 12, 2014 /

Unravelling secrets of man who dressed the stars – Orry-Kelly

IT’S A mystery that involves Australia’s most prolific Academy Award winner, a missing manuscript and the Hollywood star who was once his lover.

While few Australians have heard of the costume designer Orry-Kelly, he won three Oscars in the 1950s – for An American in Paris, Les Girls and Some Like It Hot – and was nominated for Gypsy.

He also worked on such classic movies as Casablanca, Oklahoma!, The Maltese Falcon and Arsenic and Old Lace, designing dresses for the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn and Ava Gardner.

via Unravelling secrets of man who dressed the stars.

Some_Like_it_Hot_1959Orry-Kelly+Tony+Curtis

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CategoriesArt Blogging Books Culture Design Entertainment fashion Film Friendship History Hollywood Life Memoir Movies Photography Relationships Story Travel Truth & Rumors Uncategorized Writing

Tags"Casablanca" AUNTIE MAME Billy Wilder boy from Kiama Cary Grant Costume Designer designer drinker Garry Maddox George Cukor Jack Warner Marilyn Monroe Orry-Kelly shared an apartment with Cary Grant in New York SOME LIKE IT HOT The Maltese Falcon The Sydney Morning Herald Tony Curtis Tony Curtis in a dress won three Oscars

13 Comments

  1. Madame Weebles
    January 12, 2014

    That is such a great photo of Tony Curtis. Love it. I guess it never occurred to me that their outfits for Some Like It Hot would have been designed with the same care as outfits for actual women, but of course they would have. Silly me.

  2. Vickie Lester
    January 12, 2014

    Isn’t Tony sly looking? I love it too:
    “Orry-Kelly did the dresses for Marilyn Monroe, and Jack and I were going to wear clothes out of Western Costumes. So I went to Western Costumes and they fitted us out in these dresses that belonged to Loretta Young and Kate Smith and Debbie Reynolds and Lola Momez, they took all our measurements… and none of them fit. They all puckered tight up and I didn’t like them, I didn’t like the idea that these women had worn these dresses, so I went to Billy Wilder, I said, “Billy can’t you have Orry-Kelly make our dresses?” He says, “All right, let him make your dresses.” I knew it was rare for Orry-Kelly to do guy’s dresses, so that was really nice.” Tony Curtis

  3. laniersmith
    January 12, 2014

    OMG ! Oh MY GOD! The cat is out of the bag~!!

    • Vickie Lester
      January 12, 2014

      How in the world were his shoulders going to fit into Loretta Young’s dresses???

  4. BEAUTYCALYPSE
    January 14, 2014

    what a brilliant shot! in the long cinematic tradition of men wearing women’s clothes, I think Some Like It Hot holds the crown forever.

    • Vickie Lester
      January 14, 2014

      I love it, looks like Tony’s on the verge of saying something very pithy…

      • BEAUTYCALYPSE
        January 15, 2014

        or said it already and looks to the photographer to see his reaction 😉

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