Robert Fletcher (costume designer)
{{Short description|American costume and set designer (1922–2021)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Robert Fletcher
| image =
| alt =
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| birth_name =
| birth_date = August 23, 1922
| birth_place = Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2021|04|05|1922|08|23}}
| death_place = Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
| other_names =
| occupation = Costume, set designer
| years_active =
| known_for =
| notable_works =
| spouse = Jack Kauflin
}}
Robert Fletcher (August 23, 1922 – April 5, 2021) was an American costume and set designer. He was best known for designing costumes for major ballet and opera companies in addition to films, television specials, and New York stage plays.{{cite book|author1=Roddenberry, Gene|author2=Susan Sackett|author2-link=Susan Sackett|year=1980|title=The Making of Star Trek: The Motion Picture|publisher=Pocket Books|location=New York|isbn=0-671-25181-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/makingofstartrek0000rodd/page/123 123–125]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/makingofstartrek0000rodd/page/123}}
Personal life
Fletcher was born in August 1922 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. His father was actor Leon Ames. As of 2018, Fletcher lived in Kansas City, Missouri with his husband Broadway dancer Jack Kauflin.[http://kcstudio.org/robert-fletcher-star-among-stars-now-living-kc/ Robert Fletcher: A Star Among Stars], kcstudio.org. Accessed January 22, 2023. He died there in April 2021 at the age of 98. Kauflin predeceased him.{{cite web|url=https://www.thewrap.com/robert-fletcher-star-trek-film-costume-designer-dies-at-98/|author=Welk, Brian|date=April 14, 2021|title=Robert Fletcher, ‘Star Trek’ Film Costume Designer, Dies at 98|publisher=TheWrap|accessdate=January 22, 2023}}
Career
After the semester in Iowa, Fletcher moved to New York City and worked as an actor, appearing in Ethel Barrymore's last show, Embezzled Heaven. He lived in a cold-water flat with artist Ruth Russell. They had an active social life Fletcher described as "an almost constant state of party", entertaining figures including novelists Gore Vidal and Anais Nin, dramatist Tennessee Williams, and musician Lead Belly.{{Cite news|url=http://kcstudio.org/robert-fletcher-star-among-stars-now-living-kc/|title=Robert Fletcher Star Among Stars Now Living In KC|last=Kirsch|first=Elisabeth|date=March 2, 2018|work=KC Studio|access-date=Oct 27, 2019}}
In 1960, Fletcher designed costumes for The Tempest in Stratford, Connecticut starring Katharine Hepburn at the American Shakespeare Theatre.{{Cite web |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courant/access/909565032.html?dids=909565032:909565032&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Jun+20%2C+1960&author=&pub=Hartford+Courant&desc=%27Tempest%27+Given+at+Stratford&pqatl=google |title=Archived copy |access-date=2017-07-07 |archive-date=2017-01-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170101091448/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courant/doc/552002722.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS%3AAI&type=historic&date=Jun%2020%2C%201960&author=&pub=Hartford%20Courant&edition=&startpage=&desc=%27Tempest%27%20Given%20at%20Stratford |url-status=dead }}
His work in New York extended into television; in the 1950s he was NBC's "general designer". In 1989, Fletcher moved to Taos, New Mexico, intending to retire, but ended up staying active doing design for Bollywood movies and other projects in the United States, Europe, and Asia, including taking on commissions from one of his former assistants to do design work for HBO's Rome and the Game of Thrones television series. Fletcher's design archives have been donated to Harvard.{{cn|date=January 2023}}
Fletcher had a long association with the science fiction franchise Star Trek. He served as costume designer for the first four Star Trek feature films{{cite news|author=Corrigan, Patricia|date=1995-12-14|title=Updating a Classic; Local 'Nutcracker' is getting new Costumes, Choreography|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|page=02A}} — Star Trek: The Motion Picture, The Wrath of Khan, The Search for Spock, and The Voyage Home.{{Cite web |date=2021-04-15 |title=Star Trek and Broadway costume designer Robert Fletcher has passed away, aged 98 |url=https://www.dailystartreknews.com/read/star-trek-and-broadway-costume-designer-robert-fletcher-has-passed-away-aged-98 |access-date=2024-10-11 |website=www.dailystartreknews.com |language=en-US}}
Awards
In 2008, Fletcher received a Theatre Development Fund/Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award for his set design. He has also received three Tony Award nominations for his work.{{cite web|date=2008-02-08|url=http://livedesignonline.com/theatre/conklin_fletcher_tdf_sharaff_awards_0802/|title=John Conklin And Robert Fletcher Take Home 2008 TDF/Irene Sharaff Awards|publisher=Live Design Online|accessdate=2009-02-28}}
Fletcher's three Tony Award nominations were for Little Me in 1963, High Spirits in 1964 and Hadrian VII in 1969. He also received a Drama Desk Award Nomination for Outstanding Costume Design for Othello in 1982.{{cn|date=January 2023}}
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0282097}}
- {{IBDB name}}
{{Saturn Award for Best Costume}}
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Category:American costume designers
Category:Harvard University alumni
Category:LGBTQ people from Iowa
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