Arthur William Gerold, 92, costumer to the stars
Arthur William Gerold, 92, costumer to a variety of performers, from Oscar winners to elephants, died on Friday, May 13, at Neshaminy Manor in Doylestown from complications of old age.
Arthur William Gerold, 92, costumer to a variety of performers, from Oscar winners to elephants, died on Friday, May 13, at Neshaminy Manor in Doylestown from complications of old age.
Born in West New York, N.J., Mr. Gerold became the first general manager of the Lambertville Music Circus in the 1950s. In 1955, he joined the Van Horn Costume Co. of Philadelphia, one of the oldest theatrical costume providers in the world.
Mr. Gerold went on to buy Van Horn in 1962 after it merged with the Brooks Uniform Co. The business moved to New York City, and he remained owner until 1981.
While Mr. Gerold was at the helm, the company was a leading supplier for Broadway productions by such legendary producers as David Merrick. His workroom turned out costumes for the original stage productions of many shows, including such hits as Hello Dolly, West Side Story, Cabaret, and Hair.
Brooks-Van Horn also outfitted the cast of The Godfather, as well as produced the costumes for Saturday Night Live's Coneheads and Killer Bees. Mr. Gerold worked with such leading designers as Irene Sharaff, William Ivey Long and David Toser.
From 1971 to 1981, Brooks-Van Horn outfitted the Ringling Brothers Circus, from clowns to elephants.
"He took it upon himself to fit the elephants," said daughter Barbara Vehling of Furlong, Pa.
Mr. Gerold always had a taste for the theater. As a child, he would put on shows with his cousins on the roof of their apartment building.
In 1952, Mr. Gerold married Marilyn Jean Miller, an actress who appeared under the stage name Marilyn Day.
Miller, who died in 2002, was beautiful and charismatic. Mr. Gerold was "always a character," Vehling said. While on tour, Miller invited him to spend Christmas Eve with her in Chicago.
"She pretty much told him don't come without a ring," Vehling said. He brought one, and a Christmas tree.
The couple settled in Solebury, Bucks County. In 1973, Mr. Gerold bought a farm near New Hope and converted it into the Bucks County Vineyards.
In addition to supporting local wines, Mr. Gerold displayed costumes worn by Carol Channing, Barbra Streisand, Mary Martin, Pearl Bailey, Richard Burton, Audrey Hepburn, Ethel Merman, and others. When he sold the winery in 1990, he donated about 200 costumes to the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, N.J.
The Gerolds also organized wine tours to Europe.
A Rutgers University graduate, Mr. Gerold enlisted in the Navy during World War II. In 1946, he was assigned to a vessel that participated in the first nuclear weapons test at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
In addition to Vehling, Mr. Gerold is survived by another daughter, Susan Hewitt, of Newtown; a son, Peter, of Florida; six granddaughters; and five great-grandchildren.
Services will be held June 6 at 11 a.m. at St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church, 44 Bridge St., Lambertville, N.J. Donations may be sent to Macula Vision Research Foundation, One Tower Bridge, 100 Front St., Suite 300, West Conshohocken, Pa. 19428-2894.
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@ritagiordano