Irene Sharaff

Irene Sharaff
Irene Sharaff
Born	January 23, 1910; Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	August 16, 1993 (aged 83); New York City, U.S.
Alma mater	New York School of Fine and Applied Arts; Académie de la Grande Chaumière
Partner	Mai-Mai Sze

Irene Sharaff (January 23, 1910 – August 16, 1993) was an American costume designer for stage and screen. Her accolades include five Academy Awards and a Tony Award. Sharaff is universally recognized as one of the greatest costume designers of all time.

Background

Sharaff was born in Boston to parents of Armenian descent. She studied at the New York School of Fine and Applied Arts, the Art Students League of New York, and the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris.

Career

After working as a fashion illustrator in her youth, Sharaff turned to set and costume design. Her debut production was the 1931 Broadway production of Alice in Wonderland, starring Eva Le Gallienne. Her use of silks from Thailand for The King and I (1951) created a trend in fashion and interior decoration.^[1]

Sharaff's work was featured in the movies West Side Story (Academy Award, 1961), Cleopatra (Academy Award, 1963), Meet Me in St. Louis, Hello, Dolly!, Mommie Dearest, The Other Side of Midnight, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Academy Award, 1966), Guys and Dolls, The Best Years of Our Lives, The King and I (Academy Award, 1956), An American in Paris (Academy Award, 1951), Funny Girl and Porgy and Bess.

She also designed sets and costumes for American Ballet Theatre, the New York City Ballet, and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, and contributed illustrations to fashion magazine's such as Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. Among her Broadway design credits are Idiot's Delight, Lady in the Dark, As Thousands Cheer, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Virginia, Flower Drum Song, and Jerome Robbins' Broadway.

The TDF/Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award was named for Sharaff. She was its first recipient in 1993. The award is now bestowed annually to a costume designer who, over the course of his or her career, has achieved great distinction and mastery of the art in theatre, film, opera or dance.^[2]^[3]

Death

Sharaff died in New York City of congestive heart failure, complicated by emphysema, at the age of 83.^[1] She bequeathed her collection of books, along with that of her partner, Mai-Mai Sze, to the New York Society Library.^[4]

Filmography

1981 Mommie Dearest
1977 The Other Side of Midnight
1970 The Great White Hope
1969 Hello, Dolly!
1969 Justine
1968 Funny Girl
1967 The Taming of the Shrew
1967 A Happening in Central Park (TV Special)
1966 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
1965 The Sandpiper
1963 Cleopatra
1961 Flower Drum Song
1961 West Side Story
1960 Can-Can
1959 Porgy and Bess
1956 The King and I
1955 Guys and Dolls
1954 A Star Is Born (Costume and Production Designer)
1954 Brigadoon
1953 Call Me Madam
1951 The Guy Who Came Back
1951 An American in Paris
1950 Key to the City
1949 In the Good Old Summertime
1948 Every Girl Should Be Married
1948 A Song Is Born
1947 The Unfinished Dance
1947 The Romance of Rosy Ridge
1947 The Hucksters
1947 The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
1947 Song of the Thin Man
1947 The Arnelo Affair
1947 The Beginning or the End
1947 If Winter Comes
1947 Living in a Big Way
1947 The Bishop's Wife
1946 Two Sisters from Boston
1946 The Secret Heart
1946 Courage of Lassie
1946 The Dark Mirror
1946 Love Laughs at Andy Hardy
1946 Ziegfeld Follies (Production Designer; uncredited)
1946 Easy to Wed
1946 The Green Years
1946 The Hoodlum Saint
1946 The Best Years of Our Lives
1945 Twice Blessed
1945 The Valley of Decision
1945 The Picture of Dorian Gray
1945 Adventure
1945 The Hidden Eye
1945 Her Highness and the Bellboy
1944 Meet Me in St. Louis
1944 The Thin Man Goes Home
1944 Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble
1944 Gentle Annie
1944 Broadway Rhythm
1943 Swing Shift Maisie
1943 A Stranger in Town
1943 I Dood It
1943 Madame Curie
1943 The Human Comedy
1941 The Devil and Miss Jones
1941 You'll Never Get Rich
1939 Eternally Yours
1938 Vivacious Lady

Awards and nominations

Award	Year	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
Academy Awards	1951	Best Costume Design – Color	An American in Paris	Won	^[5]
	1953		Call Me Madam	Nominated	^[6]
	1954		Brigadoon	Nominated	^[7]
		Best Art Direction – Color	A Star Is Born	Nominated
		Best Costume Design – Color	A Star Is Born	Nominated
	1955		Guys and Dolls	Nominated	^[8]
	1956		The King and I	Won	^[9]
	1959		Porgy and Bess	Nominated	^[10]
	1960		Can-Can	Nominated	^[11]
	1961		West Side Story	Won	^[12]
	1961		Flower Drum Song	Nominated	^[12]
	1963		Cleopatra	Won	^[13]
	1966	Best Costume Design – Black-and-White	Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?	Won	^[14]
	1967	Best Costume Design	The Taming of the Shrew	Nominated	^[15]
	1969		Hello, Dolly!	Nominated	^[16]
	1977		The Other Side of Midnight	Nominated	^[17]
British Academy Film Awards	1969	Best Costume Design	Funny Girl	Nominated	^[18]
Tony Awards	1952	Best Costume Design	The King and I	Won	^[19]
	1957		Candide / Happy Hunting / Shangri-La / Small War on Murray Hill	Nominated^[a]	^[20]
	1958		West Side Story	Nominated	^[21]
	1959		Flower Drum Song	Nominated	^[22]
	1964		The Girl Who Came to Supper	Nominated	^[23]
	1966		Sweet Charity	Nominated	^[24]
	1968		Hallelujah, Baby!	Nominated	^[25]

Other recognition

Sharaff was the first recipient of the TDF/Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993, which was named in her honor.^[26]
Sharaff was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1997.^[27]

Notes

^ According to the Tonys database, Sharaff received a single joint nomination for costume design in four different productions.

References

^ ^a ^b Howe, Marvine. "Irene Sharaff, Designer, 83, Dies; Costumes Won Tony and Oscars". The New York Times, August 17, 1993
^ Hetrick, Adam.Irene Sharaff Awards to Honor Robin Wagner and Lewis Brown" Archived February 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, February 22, 2011
^ Sharaff Award Archived December 18, 2010, at the Wayback Machine tdf.org, accessed February 22, 2011
^ "Sharaff-Sze Collection | New York Society Library". Nysoclib.org. Archived from the original on July 24, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
^ "24th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). October 5, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
^ "26th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). October 4, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
^ "27th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). October 4, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
^ "28th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). February 19, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
^ "29th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). March 26, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
^ "32nd Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). October 5, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
^ "33rd Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). October 5, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
^ "34th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). October 5, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
^ "36th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). October 5, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
^ "39th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). October 4, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
^ "40th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). October 4, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
^ "42nd Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). October 4, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
^ "50th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). October 5, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
^ "23rd BAFTA Film Awards". British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Retrieved January 9, 2022.
^ "THE TONY AWARD WINNERS / 1952". American Theatre Wing. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
^ "THE TONY AWARD NOMINATIONS / 1957". American Theatre Wing. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
^ "THE TONY AWARD NOMINATIONS / 1958". American Theatre Wing. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
^ "THE TONY AWARD NOMINATIONS / 1959". American Theatre Wing. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
^ "THE TONY AWARD NOMINATIONS / 1964". American Theatre Wing. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
^ "THE TONY AWARD NOMINATIONS / 1966". American Theatre Wing. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
^ "THE TONY AWARD NOMINATIONS / 1968". American Theatre Wing. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
^ "TDF Irene Sharaff Awards and Past Winners". Theatre Development Fund. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
^ Viagas, Robert (January 22, 1997). "Julie Andrews Named to Theatre Hall of Fame". Playbill. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved August 12, 2022.

Bibliography

Sharaff, Irene. Broadway and Hollywood: Costumes Designed by Irene Sharaff, Van Nostrand Reinhold Co (1976)

External links

Irene Sharaff at IMDb
Irene Sharaff at the Internet Broadway Database
Irene Sharaff Papers. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.
http://www.nysoclib.org/collection/sharaff-sze-collection Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine

[20] According to the Tonys database, Sharaff received a single joint nomination for costume design in four different productions.

[times-1] Howe, Marvine. "Irene Sharaff, Designer, 83, Dies; Costumes Won Tony and Oscars". The New York Times, August 17, 1993

[2] Hetrick, Adam.Irene Sharaff Awards to Honor Robin Wagner and Lewis Brown" Archived February 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, February 22, 2011

[3] Sharaff Award Archived December 18, 2010, at the Wayback Machine tdf.org, accessed February 22, 2011

[4] "Sharaff-Sze Collection | New York Society Library". Nysoclib.org. Archived from the original on July 24, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2016.

[5] "24th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). October 5, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2023.

[6] "26th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). October 4, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2023.

[7] "27th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). October 4, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2023.

[8] "28th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). February 19, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2023.

[9] "29th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). March 26, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2023.

[10] "32nd Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). October 5, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2023.

[11] "33rd Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). October 5, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2023.

[12] "34th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). October 5, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2023.

[13] "36th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). October 5, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2023.

[14] "39th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). October 4, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2023.

[15] "40th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). October 4, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2023.

[16] "42nd Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). October 4, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2023.

[17] "50th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). October 5, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2023.

[18] "23rd BAFTA Film Awards". British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Retrieved January 9, 2022.

[19] "THE TONY AWARD WINNERS / 1952". American Theatre Wing. Retrieved August 29, 2016.

[21] "THE TONY AWARD NOMINATIONS / 1957". American Theatre Wing. Retrieved August 29, 2016.

[22] "THE TONY AWARD NOMINATIONS / 1958". American Theatre Wing. Retrieved August 29, 2016.

[23] "THE TONY AWARD NOMINATIONS / 1959". American Theatre Wing. Retrieved August 29, 2016.

[24] "THE TONY AWARD NOMINATIONS / 1964". American Theatre Wing. Retrieved August 29, 2016.

[25] "THE TONY AWARD NOMINATIONS / 1966". American Theatre Wing. Retrieved August 29, 2016.

[26] "THE TONY AWARD NOMINATIONS / 1968". American Theatre Wing. Retrieved August 29, 2016.

[27] "TDF Irene Sharaff Awards and Past Winners". Theatre Development Fund. Retrieved June 19, 2024.

[28] Viagas, Robert (January 22, 1997). "Julie Andrews Named to Theatre Hall of Fame". Playbill. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved August 12, 2022.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[a]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]

[24]

[25]

[26]

[27]