Ralph Jester

American costume designer (1901–1991)

Ralph Jester

Born| (1901-07-10)July 10, 1901

Tyler, Texas, USA

Died| September 25, 1991(1991-09-25) (aged 90)

Los Angeles, California, USA

Occupation| Costume Designer
Years active| 1934-1959
Spouse|

Elizabeth Hawes

(m. 1930; div. 1935)​

Ralph Jester (July 10, 1901 – September 25, 1991) was an American costume designer, sculptor, and artist.

Born in Tyler, Texas, he graduated in 1919 from the Terrill School, the forerunner to St. Mark's School of Texas.[1] He was educated at Yale, where he was an editor of the campus humor magazine The Yale Record.[2]

After graduating from Yale and studying at the American Academy in Fontainebleau, France, Jester moved to Hollywood. By 1931, he was working as an art director and costume designer for Cecil B. DeMille and Paramount Pictures. For much of his career, his closest collaborator was Edith Head.[3]

For DeMille's epic Cleopatra (1934), Jester designed Claudette Colbert’s marble throne, as well as the busts of Colbert and her co star, Warren William.

He is perhaps best known professionally as one of the costume designers of The Ten Commandments (1956). He also worked on such films as Omar Khayyam (1957) and The Buccaneer (1958).

Earlier, in 1938, Frank Lloyd Wright had designed a circular home for Jester in Santa Clara, California. Never built but considered a masterpiece of design, the house was Wright's first foray into using the circle in his buildings. Wright's Guggenheim Museum would not be built for another 20 years.[4] Jester later employed Lloyd Wright, Jr. to design a modernist house for him in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.

## Oscar Nominations

[edit]

Both were for Best Costumes.

* 29th Academy Awards (color costumes category): Nominated for The Ten Commandments. Nomination shared with Arnold Friberg, Edith Head, Dorothy Jeakins and John Jensen. Lost to The King and I.[5]
* 31st Academy Awards: Nominated for The Buccaneer. Nomination shared with Edith Head and John Jensen. Lost to Gigi.[6]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ https://www.classmates.com/siteui/yearbooks/214668?page=38 [user-generated source]
2. ^ Yale Banner and Pot Pourri. New Haven: Yale University Press. 1926. p. 238.
3. ^ "Ralph Jester - Biography".
4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2021-06-06. Retrieved 2021-06-06.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
5. ^ "The 29th Academy Awards (1957) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
6. ^ "The 31st Academy Awards (1959) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved March 21, 2014.

## External links

[edit]

* Ralph Jester at IMDb

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* United States
* Israel

Other|

* SNAC

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