Ted Graber
{{Short description|American designer}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ted Graber
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| birth_date = c. 1920
| birth_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| death_date = June 3, 2000 (aged 79–80)
| death_place = Sonoma, California, U.S.
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| alma mater = Chouinard Art Institute
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| occupation = Interior designer
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| partner = Arch Case (companion)
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}}
Ted Graber (1920 – June 3, 2000) was an American interior designer. He designed many private residences in Los Angeles, California. During the Reagan administration, he designed the family quarters of the White House and the official residence of the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Winfield House.
Early life
Ted Graber was born circa 1920 in Los Angeles, California.{{cite news|last1=Nemy|first1=Enid|title=Ted Graber, 80, Decorator for Reagans, Dies|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/12/us/ted-graber-80-decorator-for-reagans-dies.html|accessdate=June 3, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=June 12, 2000}}{{cite news|last1=Thurber|first1=Jon|title=Ted Graber; Refurbished White House|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jun-04-me-37327-story.html|access-date=June 3, 2016|work=The Los Angeles Times|date=June 4, 2000}}{{cite news|last1=Thurber|first1=Jon|title=Interior Designer Ted Graber, 80, Dies|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2000/06/05/interior-designer-ted-graber-80-dies/ce8e0678-fcef-46a4-9853-b1c3b6589b58/|accessdate=June 3, 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=June 5, 2000}} His father was a cabinet-maker and an antiquarian. His grandfather was also an antiquarian. He had a brother, Raymond.
Graber studied at the Chouinard Art Institute. He served in the United States Army during World War II.
Career
Graber began his career as an assistant to interior designer William Haines. Graber and Haines remodelled windows in Spanish Revival houses, adding larger windows to bring in more sunlight.
As an independent interior designer, Graber's style was traditional with a touch of glamour. He often mixed antique furniture, particularly from the Regency era, with more modern pieces of furniture. He also added Asian figurines.
Graber was hired by First Lady Nancy Reagan to redecorate the family quarters of the White House in 1981. He also decorated the Reagans's private residence at 668 St. Cloud Road in Bel Air, Los Angeles.{{cite web|title=Christie's to sell The Private Collection of President and Mrs. Ronald Reagan|url=http://www.christies.com/features/Reagan-7431-1.aspx?pid=en_homepage_row1_slot2_1?sc_lang=en&cid=EM_EMLcontent0414449A_2|website=Christie's|accessdate=June 3, 2016|date=June 2, 2016}} Additionally, he designed President Reagan's office in Century City. Graber was succeeded by Peter Schifando as the Reagan's designer at Bel-Air.{{cite web|title='A very personal retreat': At home with the Reagans|url=https://www.christies.com/features/At-home-with-the-Reagans-7603-1.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516123900/https://www.christies.com/features/At-home-with-the-Reagans-7603-1.aspx|publisher=Christie's|accessdate=18 July 2023|archivedate=16 May 2021}}
Meanwhile, Graber was hired by Walter Annenberg and his wife, Leonore Annenberg, to design their Sunnylands residence in Palm Springs, California, as well as Winfield House, the official residence of the US Ambassador in London. Additionally, he designed the private residence of Alfred S. Bloomingdale and his wife, Betsy Bloomingdale. In New York City, he was hired to design the apartments of Jack Warner and Joan Crawford.
Personal life and death
Graber was gay and lived with his partner Archie Case for forty years.
The couple stayed the night at the White House after Nancy Reagan's sixtieth birthday.{{cite news |title=HYPOCRISY |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1984/03/18/hypocrisy/4b126ddb-2d36-4a6e-be53-4d6576560a72/ |accessdate=25 February 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=March 18, 1984}}
Graber contracted Alzheimer's disease. He lived in a retirement home in Sonoma, California, where he died on June 3, 2000. He was 80 years old.
References
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Category:Artists from Los Angeles
Category:United States Army personnel of World War II
Category:American interior designers
Category:Deaths from dementia in California
Category:Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in California
Category:LGBTQ people from California