EDITH HEAD RETURNS!

Edith Head, amongst a group of very colorful costume designers, was an enigma. She wrote more about herself, appeared frequently on TV as herself, and was interviewed more often than any other costume designer. She has also been the subject of several book-length biographies, and is easily the most recognized name in costume design. Despite it all she remains a bundle of contradictions. If only she could talk to us again and answer our questions. Alas she is in the pantheon, along with most of the late stars and icons she dressed. The closest we will get to understanding her, and it is very close indeed, is through the remarkable work of actor Susan Claassen and her one-woman show, A Conversation with Edith Head. If you're in Los Angeles, or can get there, don't miss the play at the Odyssey Theatre, October 27 through November 13 on Thursdays through Sundays.

The photo above is of Susan Claassen, not Edith Head. Susan's performance takes place on a stage of props carefully collected or created over many years. The brown satin and fur-trimmed gown is a replica of the Edith Head-designed costume for Bette Davis in All About Eve. Another costume may be the beautiful white gown designed for Elizabeth Taylor in  A Place in the Sun. Photos of Miss Head, or Edie as her friends called her, fill the backdrop. A miniature sewing machine is included, of which Miss Head had collected many.

The incredible thing about the play, besides the great acting, is how much more you "get" Edith Head after seeing it. The play script was written by Head biographer Paddy Calistro and Susan Claassen. The play does not just portray the standard view of Edith Head. Head's insecurities and related motivations, her triumphs and disappointments, the false design attributions and all, are revealed under the bright stage lights. Susan portrays these parts of Edith Head, while talking to the audience and reminiscing about her life in the movie business.

And Susan shows some of Edie's caustic side too. If you're a man in the audience , you better not be wearing some shabby shorts or she'll single you out for a lesson on proper dressing. Susan Claassen herself wears a gray suit, Edie's preferred dress for work at the studio. She believed in not outshining the stars she dressed, not a likely possibility anyway given the glamorous stars she usually worked with. But this does reveal that Edie felt she needed to flatter and accommodate the stars, whereas some top designers considered this a contest of wills.

Edith Head at home on her patio. Photo by Michael Childers

Once at home, Edith could be herself. She loved Mexican arts and crafts, and dressed in colorful outfits. She and her husband  Wiard "Bill" Ihnen had a beautiful Spanish style house called Casa Ladera, its patio walls decorated with large paintings of the noted Mexican artist Alfredo Ramos Martinez. She also loved to cook and entertain.

Edith Head typically wore her famous necklace of antique ivory theater tickets. The late Elizabeth Taylor loved the necklace so much that Edie bequeathed it to her at her death. It is a perfect symbol that Susan Claassen had replicated and wears for her shows. You don't want to miss,  A Conversation with Edith Head.