Costume as Character:
Celebrating the Legacy of Ruth Morley
Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street, New York, NY

Costume designer Ruth Morley was behind the iconic looks of several characters now considered legendary in cinema history. A Kindertransport child refugee from Vienna, in the 1950s she studied under German-American painter Hans Hofmann and went on to design costumes for opera and ballet before moving into theater, film and television. Her work can be seen in such iconic films as The Hustler (1961), The Miracle Worker (1962, Academy Award nomination), Taxi Driver (1976), Annie Hall (1977), Kramer vs Kramer (1979), One from the Heart (1981), The Chosen (1981), Tootsie (1982, BAFTA nomination) and Ghost (1990). In the 1980’s she began teaching and mentoring costume design graduate students at Brandeis and NYU.

Join panelists Deborah Nadoolman Landis (Costume Designer and Distinguished Professor at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television, Founding Director of the David C. Copley Center for Costume Design), and Susan Gammie (Emmy award-winning costume designer, protege and friend of Ruth Morley), with moderator Julie Salamon (author of The Devil’s Candy, Net of Dreams) for a discussion about Ruth Morley’s career and her impact on the field of costume design. Additional special guests to be announced!