He worked on Spartacus, Harold and Maude, Pete’s Dragon, Butch and Sundance: The Early Days, The Man With One Red Shoe and Star Trek. Costume designer William Ware Theiss is responsible for creating some of the most memorable costumes in Hollywood, including those on Star Trek.
Co-hosts Bob Turner and Kelly Casto take a look at the man and his designs.
Early in his career, he worked as Cary Grant’s assistant and helped him become, “The Best Dressed Man in Hollywood.”
Bill had a reputation for being eccentric, perhaps even rude. But he was a perfectionist, relentlessly driving those working under him. His motto was, first and foremost: "Stop when all work is done - and not before."
His designed the iconic Starfleet uniforms as well as the wardrobe needs for guest stars. And it's perhaps those costume pieces that Bill Theiss is best remembered. Female guest stars, in particular, were almost guaranteed to receive some type of revealing clothing.
But, according to Theiss, his costumes were not appealing because they showed a lot of skin. His designs were attractive because they appeared as if it would fall off at any moment!
Gene Roddenberry brought Bill back in July 1977 to work on the proposed show Star Trek Phase II. That program never went into production, but Gene called upon Bill again to work on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Bill designed the new Starfleet uniforms and all the wardrobe during the first season. His work earned him an Emmy award and two Emmy nominations.
Bill Theiss died in 1992 due to complications caused by AIDS.
70s Trek is a fan production and does not receive any profit. Intro and Outro Music was purchased from Free Play Music.
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