Leah Rhodes
Costume Designer
(1902-1986)
Costume designer Leah Rhodes was born in Port Arthur, Texas to Mr. and Mrs. Frank Montgomery. While in high school she took lessons from a sign painter, the closest to an art teacher in Port Arthur at the time. She began her career as a window designer in Port Arthur and San Antonio. She and her husband, James Glasier, moved to California in 1926, and she began her studio career in the wardrobe department of Warner Brothers. A few months later she became a shopper for the workshop's designers, then became assistant to the head designer, Orry Kelly. When Kelly was drafted in 1942, Rhodes took over as stylist for Old Acquaintance, starring Bette Davis. Rhodes went on to dress many of the big Warner stars, including Ingrid Bergman, Hedy Lamarr, Viveca Lindfors, Doris Day, and Jane Wyman. Rhodes won the first Oscar for the Best Color Costume Design for her work in The Adventures of Don Juan, starring Viveca Lindfors and Errol Flynn, in 1948. She left Warner's in 1952 to freelance. She did work for Universal Studios and for Paramount, where she worked closely with designer Edith Head. She designed costumes for both film and for television. Rhodes retired in her 80s and died at the age of 84.
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