Theadora Van Runkle 83, dies; Costume Designer

Theadora Van Runkle’s influence spanned four decades and a range of movie genres. She was catapulted to fame by her work on ‘Bonnie and Clyde.’

Hollywood costume designer Theadora Van Runkle, whose influence spanned four decades and a range of movie genres including period pieces like “Bonnie and Clyde” — which earned her the first of three Academy Award nominations — and over-the-top comedies like 1989′s “Troop Beverly Hills,” has died. She was 83. Van Runkle died Friday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles of lung cancer, the Costume Designers Guild announced. Born March 27, 1928, in Pittsburgh, Van Runkle made connections in the entertainment industry not long after that. “She came out here as a baby,” her son Max said, “when her mother came out here to try and make it in Hollywood.” – - story by By Adam Tschorn LA Times READ MORE