Irene Sharaff

Renowned costume designer who established herself creating the witty, fluid and stylish costumes for the classic Broadway musicals of the 1930s, 40s and 50s (including "As Thousands Cheer" 1933, "On Your Toes" 1936, "I'd Rather Be Right" 1937, "The Boys from Syracuse" 1938, "Lady in the Dark" 1941, "The King & I" 1951, "West Side Story" 1957, "Funny Girl" 1964, and "Sweet Charity" 1965). Lured to Hollywood by MGM in 1942 because of reputation for accuracy of detail in period costuming and skill in designing for fantasy sequences and musical numbers, Sharaff's first assignment ironically was for "Madame Curie" (1943), where she had little to do but design lab smocks. The next year, however, she joined the legendary Freed unit at its inception and first made her mark in film with Vincente Minnelli's precisely realized period musical, "Meet Me in St. Louis" (1944), followed by his strikingly stylized if not entirely successful, "Yolanda and the Thief" (1945).