Associate Curator Christina Johnson concludes her two-part exploration of the career of milliner Leon Bennett in today's post. Learn the extent of Bennett's collaboration with designer Rudi Gernreich, and how his career transitioned to focus on Hollywood. Make sure to read part one of our Leon Bennett series here.
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Clipping: “Gernreich’s Fashions Are Eye-Popping Pace Setters,” Chicago Tribune, June 30, 1964, Gernreich Scrapbook 1964, Bequest of the Rudi Gernreich Estate, G85.331.11
Cap by Leon Bennett, “Fashion Independent: Mr. Rudi Gernreich,” Harper’s Bazaar, September 1964
From the sources I’ve gathered so far, I know Leon Bennett worked with Rudi Gernreich from at least August 1963 through late 1964; he is credited for designs in the Spring and Fall 1964 seasons.[i] But what was his journey like up to that point in time? To investigate his earlier biography, I consulted digitized vital records and newspaper articles. I found an entry for R. Leon Bennett, also known as “Rutherford Leon Bennett” and “Leon Bennett,” who died on June 2, 2001 (matching the Variety obituary).[ii] His birthdate was listed as January 6, 1916[iii] and he was born in Denver, Colorado.[iv] After graduating from high school in Wewoka, Oklahoma,[v] he attended the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque—where he majored in design nutrition and public speaking.[vi] Leon married Thelma Payne on Dec 21, 1940.[vii] Shortly thereafter, they returned to Denver where he began his hat business.
I learned that Bennett’s degree in nutrition did have a role in his millinery career—as odd as that might first seem. His father was a hotel cook,[viii] and after working together for a time, [ix] Leon started his own catering business. His specialty? Miniature hats carved from fruits and vegetables used as garnishes for the platters of food being served! [x] After all, Bennett had been interested in millinery since he was a child. As one editorial noted: “he first tested his talent by making miniature hats from scraps of cloth from his mother’s sewing basket and feathers plucked from the family’s chicken flock.”[xi] An early break came by way of a national radio show broadcast during the 1940s: Bennett "credits his fabulous creation designed for the Denver appearance of the ‘Breakfast in Hollywood’ radio show with being another starting point in his career. The hat that launched Bennett depicted a rural scene, complete with swinging gate, a picket fence, and grazing livestock"[xii]; it also included a lighted billboard bearing sponsors’ names.[xiii] Of course, radio listeners couldn’t see the hat, but it must have been described in detail by the well-known host, Tom Breneman who urged Bennett to go into the hat business as soon as possible![xiv]
Hattie McDaniel possibly wearing Leon Bennett hat, Photograph, c. 1942. Source unknown.
Bennett seems to have had a knack for connecting with celebrities. When actress Hattie McDaniel travelled to Denver, he sent her one of his hats (made of typical millinery materials—not grocery items!). She liked it so much that she began commissioning most of her hats from him, making her the first of many celebrity connections he established.[xv] It seems that by 1953, Bennett had fully transitioned out of the catering business and was an established milliner in Denver. He made regular donations of his wares to women’s clubs as prizes for essay-writing competitions--no doubt growing his clientele along the way. [xvi] Bennett’s natural showmanship garnered even more clients: “Familiar now to many groups, such as dental auxiliaries, YMCA classes, PEO, Jewish organizations, youth centers, and others is the Leon hat show. Here he takes hats worn by women in the audience, gives them a twist and a turn, sometimes adds a feather or bauble to give an entirely new look.”[xvii]