---
name: "William Ware Theiss"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/william-ware-theiss"
roles: ["Costume designer"]
born: "20 November 1931"
died: "15 December 1992"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T15:53:27.235221+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 Ware Theiss

Costume designer. Born 20 November 1931 in Medford, Massachusetts, US. Died 15 December 1992.

## Details

- **Work:** Costume designer
- **Born:** 20 November 1931, Medford, Massachusetts, US
- **Died:** 15 December 1992
- **Also known as:** William Theiss

## Biography

William Ware Theiss, also credited as William Theiss, was an American costume designer for film and television. He designed costumes for the entire run of the television series *Star Trek* (1966–1969). He had previously worked as a personal assistant to Cary Grant and designed costumes for the 1964 stage production *The World of Ray Bradbury*, which led to his introduction to Gene Roddenberry via D. C. Fontana.

Theiss's film credits include *Spartacus* (1960), *Harold and Maude* (1971), *Bound for Glory* (1976), *Who'll Stop the Rain* (1978), *Goin' South* (1978), *Butch and Sundance: The Early Days* (1979), *The Man with One Red Shoe* (1985) and *Heart Like a Wheel* (1983). He received three Academy Award nominations for Best Costume Design. For television he also designed for the first season of *Star Trek: The Next Generation* (1987–1988), winning an Emmy Award for Outstanding Costume Design for a Series for the episode "The Big Goodbye".

Theiss was born on 20 November 1931 in Medford, Massachusetts, and died on 15 December 1992 in Los Angeles, California.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, memory-alpha.fandom.com, startrek.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Star Trek* (1966), Fi1m 83, Costume design — [page](https://film.one/tv/star-trek-1966.md)

## Also known for

- *Harold and Maude* (1971), Costume Designer — [page](https://film.one/film/harold-and-maude.md)
- *The Man with One Red Shoe* (1985), Costume Design
- *Goin' South* (1978), Costume Design
- *Bound for Glory* (1976), Costume Design
- *Who'll Stop the Rain* (1978), Costume Design
- *Pretty Maids All in a Row* (1971), Costume Design
- *Butch and Sundance: The Early Days* (1979), Costume Design
- *Hickey & Boggs* (1972), Costume Design

---
© 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/william-ware-theiss