Gwen Wakeling

Who was Gwen Wakeling?

Costume designer Gwen Wakeling was a personal favourite of Cecil B. DeMille. Indeed her first film was his 1927 epic "The King of Kings", and she earned an Academy Award for her work on his version of "Samson and Delilah" in 1950.

In a career spanning over 140 films, she also worked for director John Ford on such films as "The Prisoner of Shark Island", "Drums Along the Mohawk", "The Grapes of Wrath" and "How Green Was My Valley", and provided the costumes for most of the Shirley Temple films, such as Little Miss Broadway, in the 1930s. One of her last assignments was creating Barbara Eden's "Jeannie" costumes for I Dream Of Jeannie in 1965.

Wakeling was a member of the Bahá'í Faith, and her husband, Henry J. Staudigl, set up an arts endowment in her memory at Bosch Bahá'í School in Santa Cruz to promote artistic endeavors and included a research and resource library.