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Alvin Colt

1916 – 2008

American costume designer

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About Alvin Colt

Lived 1916 – 2008 (aged 91). Alvin Colt was an American costume designer and draftsperson.

Alvin Colt (July 5, 1916 – May 4, 2008) was an American costume designer. Colt worked on over 50 Broadway shows.

His first job was in a theatrical fabric house, he also worked on painting scenery during the summer. On the Town was the first Broadway show he worked on in 1944. His major Broadway credits include Guys and Dolls, Top Banana, Fanny, Finian's Rainbow, Six Characters in Search of an Author, Destry Rides Again, Wildcat, Here's Love, The Crucible, The Goodbye People, Sugar, Lorelei, Jerome Robbins' Broadway and Waiting in the Wings for producer Alexander H. Cohen, with whom he had a long working relationship. Alvin won a Tony Award in 1955 for Pipe Dream. He did the costumes for the 1957 show, Rumple. The last official show he worked on was in 2001 for If you ever leave me...I'm going with you!

Colt also designed for TV and film. Among his screen credits are costume designs for the films Top Banana, Stiletto and Li'l Abner and for the TV productions of The Enchanted Nutcracker, Kiss Me Kate, The Adams Chronicles, CBS: On the Air, Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood and many years of the Tony Awards. Alvin also designed the children's musical Treehouse Trolls Birthday Day for Goodtimes Entertainment.

He was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 2002.

In 2007 the Museum of the City of New York offered the exhibition "Costumes and Characters: The Designs of Alvin Colt," and the museum is now the home of many of his costume sketches.

Colt died of natural causes on May 4, 2008, in New York City.

Awards and nominations

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Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Awards
Tony Award for Best Costume Design

People in Alvin Colt's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Alvin Colt's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Alvin Colt?

American costume designer (1916-2008)

When was Alvin Colt born?

Alvin Colt was born on 5 July 1916 in Louisville.

When did Alvin Colt die?

Alvin Colt died on 4 May 2008 in New York City.

What was Alvin Colt's occupation?

Alvin Colt was a costume designer and draftsperson.

What nationality was Alvin Colt?

Alvin Colt was American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Alvin Colt

· Wikidata: Q449052

· DBpedia: Alvin Colt

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Alvin Colt. https://biography.guide/alvin-colt/

MLA: "Alvin Colt." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/alvin-colt/.

Chicago: "Alvin Colt." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/alvin-colt/.

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