Jean Louis interview, circa 1980s, circa 1980s

Jean Louis Berthault, born in 1907, was an Academy Award-winning designer who created some of the most memorable costumes and fashions worn by Hollywood stars of the 1940's, 50's and 60's. After training in Paris with the designer Drecoll, he came to the United States in 1936 where he was hired as one of the lead designers at Hattie Carnegie alongside Norman Norell and Claire McCardell. The following year he designed the Carnegie suit, one of the first fashions to become popular as an American name design. Louis became known for designing costumes and garments for famous Hollywood celebrities including Lana Turner, Vivien Leigh, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Betty Grable, Judy Garland, Greta Garbo and Katharine Hepburn. He was responsible for the glittering ''beads and skin'' dress worn by Marilyn Monroe for her performance of ''Happy Birthday'' to President John F. Kennedy in Madison Square Garden in 1962. He became the head designer at Columbia Pictures in 1943, then moved on to Universal studios later on. At Columbia, where he became a mentor to James Galanos who was working as his assistant, he was the only costume designer at the time to be given full film credit. In the early 1960's, Mr. Louis severed his relationship with the studios, opened a salon in Beverly Hills, California, where he continued to design for the movies on a freelance basis. Over the course of his career, he was nominated for 13 additional Academy Awards. Louis retired in 1988, and passed away in 1997 in Palm Springs, California, at the age of 89.

"Robert Lamont Green, a men's fashion editor, consultant and lecturer who was the fashion director of Playboy magazine for more than 20 years, has died at age 79. ... Mr. Green was a familiar figure in the New York fashion world of the 1960s and '70s. Called Robert L. by his friends and associates, he was widely known for his wit, his skills as a raconteur and his many parties. At Playboy, from 1958 to 1975, he strengthened the magazine's fashion coverage and increased its presence in the fashion world by organizing special events and founding the Caswell-Massey Awards, which later became Playboy's Creative Men's Wear Awards. ... He occasionally appeared on "The Merv Griffin Show," "The Mike Douglas Show," "Tonight" show and "Today" show. He also wrote a book, "Live With Style," as well as articles for Architectural Digest and other publications. In 1983, he moved to Los Angeles and became a fashion consultant to the TV and film industries. After graduating from Michigan State University, Mr. Green worked as a child psychologist until he served in the Army during World War II. Settling in Washington after his discharge, he started a public relations agency and became the host of a CBS radio program dealing with musical theater." Chicago Tribune, Obituary, 1997



Robert Green made a considerable contribution to the Oral History Program at the Fashion Institute of Technology's Gladys Marcus Library throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s."

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