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“Getting to Know Sue Clifton, Dooney & Bourke”: A...

MERYL STREEP, SOAP OPERAS, THE ROCKETTES…and ME!

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As I look back at my career, I feel privileged, amazed and grateful.

Early on I knew my passion for theater, fashion and design would inevitably take me to New York City, the capital of all of those things. What I didn’t know was the wonderful ride I would enjoy while chasing my dreams!

Coming to New York City as a young designer, I landed my very first job on Day 1: working in the costume department for Shakespeare in the Park. New York City. Central Park. I thought it couldn’t get any more glamourous. And then I spotted Meryl Streep on stage rehearsing. I knew I was going to love New York in a big way!

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After my brush with arguably the greatest actress of our day, reality set in.

I went to work for the hottest designer on Broadway. I was beside myself. He was an idol of mine and a HUGE talent, a legend. I showed up for my first day of work and he suggested I “Tidy up the kitchen” while he went back to bed and slept until noon. So I rolled up my sleeves and cleaned that kitchen like it had never been cleaned. I guess that’s called paying your dues. Ha! (I did go on to learn more from him than I ever was taught in school. And I was never asked to clean that kitchen again!!)

After a few years assisting some of the greats on Broadway shows, movies and television, I got my big break and was hired as the designer for the soap opera Guiding Light. What a thrill. I can honestly say I have never worked harder or had more fun! Soaps are a grueling schedule of 12-14 hour days, 5 days a week. If you were a fan of the show, my era was the Quint and Nola period, which was a designer’s dream. We did incredible movie parodies, fantasy segments, remote shooting all over the world, and were the number one daytime drama on TV.

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On location with Guiding Light start John Bolger… (and keep your comments about my crazy pants to yourselves – it was the 80’s!)

My hard work was rewarded with 3 Emmy Awards for the three years I designed the show. Wow! Sadly the Guiding Light, the longest running TV show in history, went off the air several years ago. The end of an era.

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I found a clip from the press kit CBS had produced about me after my third Emmy win. Not sure who the young guy with all the dark brown hair is but he seems like a nice guy!

https://youtu.be/yyOWhqTml0I?t=4m19s

Shortly after I left CBS, I accepted a job as a designer for the world famous Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall for their famous Christmas show. (Talk about a diverse career!)

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The Rockettes are an institution here in New York City and if you haven’t had the pleasure of seeing them perform, it is magical and quintessential New York. Thirty-six high-kicking, long-legged dancers in perfect unison. The girls had an entire floor to themselves for their dressing room at Rockefeller Center and I remember the call “MAN ON THE FLOOR!” every time I would stop by for fittings before a show.

I also spent several years working in LA as part of the team that was creating a brand new soap opera to be called The Bold and the Beautiful. I loved the idea of creating a new show from scratch and creating a world for these characters to live in. To this day the show is an enormous global success. I still occasionally get requests for interviews from Italian or German press to discuss my work on the show!

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I love this picture of me with the entire original cast from The Bold and The Beautiful. This was taken at the producer’s home in Bel Air (the former Howard Hughes estate!!!) at a party to celebrate the launch of the show. I can spot actors who are still on the show!!

I hope you enjoyed my trip down memory lane and a bit of insight into who I am and where I came from before QVC.

In a future blog I will discuss how I moved back from LA and met the woman who would change my life in so many ways: Joan Rivers.

OUR UPCOMING APPEARANCES:

October 5th ,2015

6-9am: Fashionably Early w/ Jayne & Pat

Friday, October 23rd

1-2am Joan Rivers Classics Collection

10- Noon Joan Rivers Classics Collection

Saturday, October 24th

7-10am: AM Style w/ Leah Williams

Monday, October 26th

6-7pm Joan Rivers Classics Collection