Norma Shearer in an Adrian gown.

Adrian (March 3, 1903 - September 13, 1959) was a Hollywood costume designer whose most famous costumes were for The Wizard of Oz and other Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films of the 1930s and 1940s. Image File history File links AdrianGown. ... Image File history File links AdrianGown. ... Norma Shearer (August 10, circa 1902 – June 12, 1983) was a naturalized U.S. citizen actress who had been born in Montreal, Quebec, the daughter of a Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman. ... 1903 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... September 13 is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years). ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... ... Costume designer is a cinema term which refers to a person whose responsibilty is to design costumes for a movie or stage production. ... The movies filming was completed on March 16, 1939. ... For alternate meanings of MGM, see MGM (disambiguation). ... // Events and trends A public speech by Benito Mussolini, founder of the Fascist movement The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the global depression. ... // Events and trends World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atomic bomb. ...

Early Life

Adrian Adolph Greenberg was born on March 3rd, 1903 in Naugatuck, Connecticut to Jewish immigrant parents Gilbert and Helena (Pollack) Greenburg. In his early career, Adrian was sometimes credited as Gilbert Adrian, a combination of his name and his father's. Adrian attended the New York School for Fine and Applied Arts (now Parsons School of Design). In 1922, he transferred to NYSFAA's Paris campus and while there was hired by Irving Berlin. Adrian then designed the costumes for Berlin's The Music Box Revue. Naugatuck is a borough located in New Haven County, Connecticut. ... The Parsons School of Design, located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City, is a design school affiliated (since 1970) with the New School University. ... The neutrality and factual accuracy of this article are disputed. ... Irving Berlin (May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989), born Israel Isidore Baline, in Tyumen, Russia (or possibly Mogilev, Belarus), was an American composer and lyricist, one of the most prodigious and famous American songwriters in history. ...

Film Work

Adrian was hired as the head costume designer for Cecil B. DeMille's independent film studio. In 1928, Cecil B. DeMille moved to MGM and Adrian was hired as chief costume designer at the studio. In his career at MGM, Adrian designed costumes for over 200 films. During this time, Adrian worked with some of the biggest female stars of the day like Greta Garbo, Norma Shearer, Jean Harlow, and Joan Crawford. Adrian was behind Crawford's signature outfits with large shoulderpads, which later spawned a fashion trend. Cecil Blount DeMille (August 12, 1881 - January 21, 1959) was one of the most successful filmmakers during the first half of the 20th century. ... Cecil Blount DeMille (August 12, 1881 - January 21, 1959) was one of the most successful filmmakers during the first half of the 20th century. ... Greta Garbo (September 18, 1905 – April 15, 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. ... Norma Shearer (August 10, circa 1902 – June 12, 1983) was a naturalized U.S. citizen actress who had been born in Montreal, Quebec, the daughter of a Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman. ... Harlow early in her career Jean Harlow (March 3, 1911 - June 7, 1937), was an US film actress who became known as the original blonde bombshell, predating Marilyn Monroe as a blonde sex symbol. ... Joan Crawford, photographed by Yousuf Karsh, 1948 Joan Crawford (March 23, 1906 – May 10, 1977) was an Academy Award winning American actress. ...

Later Life

Adrian left MGM in 1941 to set up his own independent fashion house, though he still worked closely with Hollywood. He married Janet Gaynor in 1939, and they remained married until his death in 1959. He only returned to MGM for a final film, 1952's Lovely to Look At. Despite his success, Adrian was never nominated for an Academy Award. Janet Gaynor (born October 6, 1906; died September 14, 1984) was an actress who in 1928 was the first winner of the Academy Award for Best Actress. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ...

Selected Filmography

• Rope (1948)
• Flight for Freedom (1943)
• Boom Town (1940)
• The Philadelphia Story (1940)
• Susan and God (1940)
• The Women (1939)
• Balalaika (1939)
• The Wizard of Oz (1939)
• The Girl of the Golden West (1938)
• Born to Dance (1936)
• The Gorgeous Hussy (1936)
• The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
• Wife Vs. Secretary (1936)
• I Live My Life (1935)
• The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934)
• Nana (1934)
• The Cat and the Fiddle (1934)
• Dinner at Eight (1933)
• Today We Live (1933)
• Strange Interlude (1932)
• Smilin' Through (1932)
• Laughing Sinners (1931)
• Possessed (1931)
• Private Lives (1931)
• Anna Christie (1930)
• Romance (1930)
• The Divorcee (1930)

Rope (1948) is an Alfred Hitchcock film notable for appearing to be one continuous shot. ... The Philadelphia Story is a 1940 romantic screwball comedy starring James Stewart, Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. ... The Women is a modern comedy of manners by Clare Boothe, which opened on Broadway in 1936 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre with an all-female cast that included Arlene Francis, Marjorie Main. ... The movies filming was completed on March 16, 1939. ... Anna Christie is a play by Eugene ONeill. ...

External links

• Adrian at the Internet Movie Database
• New York Times Biography
• Adrian exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Exhibit Notes and Gallery from Kent State