---
name: "William Travilla"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/travilla"
fi1m_id: "travilla"
imdb_id: "nm0871359"
tmdb_id: 11445
wikidata_id: "Q945402"
roles: ["Costume designer"]
born: "22 March 1920"
died: "2 November 1990"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 83
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-09-25T06:28:43.999707+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# William Travilla

## Identity

William Travilla

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/travilla
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** travilla
- **IMDb ID:** nm0871359
- **TMDB ID:** 11445
- **Wikidata ID:** Q945402
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Travilla, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q945402, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0871359/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/11445

Costume designer. Born 22 March 1920 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Died 2 November 1990.

## Details

- **Work:** Costume designer
- **Born:** 22 March 1920, Los Angeles, California, USA
- **Died:** 2 November 1990
- **Active:** 1951–1953
- **Also known as:** Travilla, William Jack Travilla, Bill
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won · 3 nominated)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 83 to 76 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 0 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Thriller 2, Comedy 1, Crime 1, Drama 1, Romance 1, Science Fiction 1
- **Screen time:** 4 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $7m across 2 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Travilla, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q945402, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0871359/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/11445

## Streaming the US now

- **Tubi:** [*Pickup on South Street*](https://film.one/film/pickup-on-south-street.md) (84)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

William Travilla (1920–1990), professionally known as Travilla, was an American costume designer for film and television. He began working in Hollywood in the early 1940s and received his first major credit for the costumes of *Adventures of Don Juan* (1948), for which he shared an Academy Award.

Travilla is chiefly known for designing costumes for Marilyn Monroe in eight films, including *Gentlemen Prefer Blondes* (1953), *How to Marry a Millionaire* (1953), *River of No Return* (1954) and *The Seven Year Itch* (1955). His other film credits include *The Day the Earth Stood Still* (1951), *Viva Zapata!* (1952) and *Bus Stop* (1956). From the 1970s he worked extensively in television, earning two Emmy Awards.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (3)

- *Gentlemen Prefer Blondes* (1953), Fi1m 82, Costume design, Costume Design — [page](https://film.one/film/gentlemen-prefer-blondes.md)
- *Pickup on South Street* (1953), Fi1m 84, Costume Design, Costume design — [page](https://film.one/film/pickup-on-south-street.md)
- *The Day the Earth Stood Still* (1951), Fi1m 82, Costume design, Costume Design — [page](https://film.one/film/the-day-the-earth-stood-still.md)

## Complete filmography (84)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Thorn Birds* (1983), series, Costume Design
- *Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy* (1981), Costume Design
- *Evita Peron* (1981), Costume Design
- *The Silent Lovers* (1980), Costume Design
- *The Scarlett O'Hara War* (1980), Costume Design
- *This Year's Blonde* (1980), Costume Design
- *Caboblanco* (1980), Costume Design
- *She's Dressed to Kill* (1979), Costume Design
- *The Boston Strangler* (1968), Costume Supervisor
- *The Secret Life of an American Wife* (1968), Costume Design
- *Valley of the Dolls* (1967), Costume Design
- *Jacqueline Susann and the Valley of the Dolls* (1967), Actor
- *Take Her, She's Mine* (1963), Costume Design
- *Mary, Mary* (1963), Costume Designer
- *The Stripper* (1963), Costume Design
- *From the Terrace* (1960), Costume Design
- *Shirley Temple's Storybook* (1958), series, Costume Designer
- *Bus Stop* (1956), Costume Design
- *23 Paces to Baker Street* (1956), Costume Design
- *The Proud Ones* (1956), Costume Design
- *The Revolt of Mamie Stover* (1956), Costume Design
- *The Bottom of the Bottle* (1956), Costume Design
- *The Lieutenant Wore Skirts* (1956), Costume Design
- *The Rains of Ranchipur* (1955), Costume Design
- *The Tall Men* (1955), Costume Design
- *The Left Hand of God* (1955), Costume Design
- *How to Be Very, Very Popular* (1955), Costume Design
- *The Seven Year Itch* (1955), Costume Design
- *White Feather* (1955), Costume Design
- *There's No Business Like Show Business* (1954), Costume Design
- *Three Young Texans* (1954), Costume Design
- *Black Widow* (1954), Costume Design
- *Broken Lance* (1954), Costume Design
- *The Raid* (1954), Costume Design
- *Garden of Evil* (1954), Costume Design
- *Princess of the Nile* (1954), Costume Design
- *River of No Return* (1954), Costume Design
- *Hell and High Water* (1954), Costume Designer
- *Man in the Attic* (1953), Costume Design
- *King of the Khyber Rifles* (1953), Costume Design
- *How to Marry a Millionaire* (1953), Costume Design
- *Appointment in Honduras* (1953), Costume Design
- *Gentlemen Prefer Blondes* (1953), Costume Design — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/gentlemen-prefer-blondes.md)
- *Powder River* (1953), Costume Design
- *The Farmer Takes a Wife* (1953), Costume Design
- *Pickup on South Street* (1953), Costume Design — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/pickup-on-south-street.md)
- *The Girl Next Door* (1953), Costume Design
- *Bloodhounds of Broadway* (1952), Costume Design
- *Monkey Business* (1952), Costume Designer
- *Dreamboat* (1952), Costume Design
- *Don't Bother to Knock* (1952), Costume Design
- *Viva Zapata!* (1952), Costume Design
- *The Day the Earth Stood Still* (1951), Costume Design — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/the-day-the-earth-stood-still.md)
- *Meet Me After the Show* (1951), Costume Design
- *On the Riviera* (1951), Costume Design
- *Rawhide* (1951), Costume Design
- *Bird of Paradise* (1951), Costume Design
- *American Guerrilla in the Philippines* (1950), Costume Design
- *I'll Get By* (1950), Costume Design
- *Mister 880* (1950), Costume Design
- *No Way Out* (1950), Costume Design
- *Panic in the Streets* (1950), Costume Design
- *The Gunfighter* (1950), Costume Design
- *The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady* (1950), Costume Design
- *Mother Didn't Tell Me* (1950), Costume Design
- *When Willie Comes Marching Home* (1950), Costume Design
- *The Inspector General* (1949), Costume Design
- *Dancing in the Dark* (1949), Costume Design
- *Look for the Silver Lining* (1949), Costume Design
- *Flamingo Road* (1949), Costume Design
- *Adventures of Don Juan* (1948), Costume Supervisor
- *Two Guys from Texas* (1948), Costume Design
- *Silver River* (1948), Costume Designer, Wardrobe Designer
- *My Wild Irish Rose* (1947), Costume Design
- *Escape Me Never* (1947), Costume Design
- *Cry Wolf* (1947), Costume Design
- *The Unfaithful* (1947), Costume Designer
- *Love and Learn* (1947), Wardrobe Designer
- *Nora Prentiss* (1947), Costume Design
- *The Beast with Five Fingers* (1947), Wardrobe Designer
- *The Verdict* (1946), Costume Design
- *The Woman of the Town* (1943), Costume Design
- *The Desperadoes* (1943), Costume Design
- *Fiesta* (1941), Costume Design

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 1 won, 3 nominated

- 1964: Best Costume Design, Black-and-White (nominated), for *The Stripper*
- 1955: Best Costume Design, Color (nominated), for *There's No Business Like Show Business*
- 1954: Best Costume Design, Color (nominated), for *How to Marry a Millionaire*
- 1950: Best Costume Design, Color (won), for *Adventures of Don Juan*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/travilla