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Creator
Colt, Alvin
Call number
*T-Vim 2002-020
Physical description
3.75 linear feet (14 boxes)
Language
English
Preferred Citation

Alvin Colt Designs, *The Vim 2002-050. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

Repository
Billy Rose Theatre Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.Restrictions apply

Alvin Colt is an award-winning costume and scenic designer that has worked in film, television and theater. The collection consists mainly of costume designs for television productions from the 1970s and 1980s, but also includes scenic designs for stage productions drawn early in his career (1935-1947).

Biographical/historical information

Alvin Colt was born in Louisville, Kentucky on July 5, 1915. He received his drama training in Yale's Department of Drama (1934-37), where he was the youngest member of his class. After working in summer theater, he moved to New York and was soon told (by legendary costume designer Irene Sharaff) to forget about the theater and "Go and live a happy and peaceful life." Disregarding this advice, and began designing for what is now the New York City Ballet Company. His early experiences in designing for ballet made him a natural choice for the 1944 Broadway show On the Town. On the Town was based on the Jerome Robbins ballet, Fancy Free, and was Colt's Broadway debut.

Colt worked steadily both on and off-Broadway throughout the 1940s. Two of his notable works include a 1946 Mercury Production of Around the World in 80 Days (produced, written and directed by Orson Welles), and the design of over 200 costumes for Music in My Heart in 1947. In 1950 Colt was asked to design costumes for the smash-hit Guys & Dolls. The librettist, Abe Burrows, had seen Colt's designs for On the Town and thought they "looked like real New York people". In 1953 the 6 foot 6 inch designer from Louisville was aptly chosen to design for The Tall Kentuckian. He also helped to found the Phoenix Theatre. His work with the Phoenix included Madam, Will You Walk with Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn, 1954's cult musical The Golden Apple, and the legendary revival of The Sea Gull with Montgomery Clift, his longtime friend Kevin McCarthy, and Maureen Stapleton.

1956 brought greater recognition to Colt with a Tony Award for Costume Design for Pipe Dream, and an Antoinette Perry Award for Distinguished Work in the New York Theater. That year he also designed costumes for the Broadway production of Li'l Abner, which he would rework for the film version only three years later. Colt expanded into designing for television in 1961 with The Enchanted Nutcracker. He continued to work in television occasionally throughout the 1960s but it was the 1970s and 1980s that saw his true focus on the medium. His varied productions included Awards shows such as the Emmy s and the Tonys, many specials, and a 13-hour historical drama called The Adams Chronicles.

In the 1990s Colt returned to the theater, and in 1994 began an ongoing relationship with the off-Broadway review Forbidden Broadway that continues to this day. He received the Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award in Costume Design from the Theatre Development Fund (TDF) in 1996, and in 2001 he was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame.

Scope and arrangement

The designs of Alvin Colt include both costume and scenic works. The costume designs were made for television productions, the bulk of which are from the 1970s and 1980s. They are mounted and often have fabric samples attached. The scenic designs are from an earlier period of Colt's career, 1935-1947, and consist mainly of sketches for theater sets. There is also a folder of photographs of stage sets done for Eltch's Garden Theatre.

The Alvin Colt designs are arranged in two series:

  • Series I: Costume Designs
    1961-1990
    12 boxes

    This series contains costume design sketches and watercolors, often accompanied by fabric samples, made for various television productions.

  • Series II: Scenic Designs
    1935-1947
    2 boxes

    This series contains Colt's earlier works. It includes scenic design sketches and watercolors, as well as some photographs of the actual scenery. (Though there is no show that includes both a photograph and the design sketch.)

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

The Alvin Colt Designs were donated by Alvin Colt in 2002.

Processing information

Processed by Jennifer Winters; Machine-readable finding aid created by Mary Ellen Rogan and Jennifer Winters.

Using the collection

Location

Billy Rose Theatre Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor

Conditions Governing Use

For permission to publish, contact the Curator, Billy Rose Theatre Division.

Access restrictions

Photocopying prohibited.