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John Mollo

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Designer

The Resume

    (March 18, 1931-October 25, 2017)
    Born in London, United Kingdom
    Won Oscars for Best Costume Design for ‘Star Wars’ (1977) and ‘Gandhi’ (1982)
    Also designed costumes for ‘Alien’ (1979), ‘The Empire Strikes Back (1980), ‘Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes’ (1984), ‘Cry Freedom’ (1987), ‘White Hunter, Black Heart’ (1990), ‘Chaplin’ (1992), ‘The Three Musketeers’ (1993), ‘The Jungle Book’ (1994) and ‘Event Horizon’ (1997)
    Wrote the books ‘Military Fashion,’ ‘Uniforms of the Seven Years’ War’ and ‘Uniforms of the American Revolution’

Why he might be annoying:

    He had not watched a science fiction movie before talking with George Lucas about ‘Star Wars.’
    Lucas’s first instruction to him was ‘I don’t want to notice the costumes,’ which apparently was not adhered to.
    He said about working on ‘Star Wars,’ ‘We doubted that it would ever be shown.’
    Rex Reed carped about his Oscar for ‘Gandhi,’ ‘For what – wrinkled sheets, burlap sacks and loincloths?’

Why he might not be annoying:

    Before going into costume design, he was a military historian and advisor for the films ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ (1966), ‘Nicholas and Alexandra’ (1971) and ‘Barry Lyndon’ (1975).
    He said about assembling Darth Vader’s iconic costume, ‘I had to go to three departments [at Angels Costumes in London]: the ecclesiastical department for a robe, the modern department for a motorcycle suit, and the military department for a German helmet and gas mask.’
    Mark Hamill said he was ‘crucial’ in creating the look of ‘Star Wars.’
    He avoided following the fashions of the day, helping the costumes hold up over time: ‘The characters look as fresh today as they did forty years ago, which sounds incredibly conceited, but I rather think that that is true.’

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 101 Votes: 51.49% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 6 Votes: 83.33% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 4 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying