Phyllis Morris
Encyclopedia
Early career
Phyllis Morris (born October 19, 1925 in Chicago, IllinoisChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
; died September 5, 1988 in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
) was an American furniture designer known for her colorful persona, her outspokenness on decorating and her distinctive furniture and interior designs, especially her large and highly decorative beds. She was often referred to by the media as the "designer to the stars." By the time of her passing, Morris had left a mark in the world of interior design
Interior design
Interior design describes a group of various yet related projects that involve turning an interior space into an effective setting for the range of human activities are to take place there. An interior designer is someone who conducts such projects...
in each of the four decades since the founding of her company Phyllis Morris Originals in 1953.
While a teenager, Morris' family moved from Chicago to Los Angeles where she pursued art classes at UCLA as well as a brief stint in acting. In 1953 Morris created a lamp whose design was based on one of her primitive figure clay sculptures. The lamp was manufactured by W.J. Sloan's, a Los Angeles department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
and became so successful that Morris decided to pursue self-manufacturing of the second lamp design—a poodle lamp modeled after her own pink-dyed poodle Pamela—and set up a factory in nearby Burbank. Three years later in 1956 Morris married Nathan Goller, a prominent Beverly Hills attorney, and together they would have two children, James and Jamie.
The poodle lamp propelled Morris into the limelight and it wasn't long before she became a local celebrity. Often wearing a full-length mink coat and pink pedal pusher slacks, she would drive throughout Los Angeles in a pink Cadillac
Cadillac
Cadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...
convertible with its top down and the front and back seats filled with pink poodle lamps and real pink-dyed poodles in the front seat. Not only did the residents of L.A. take note of Morris and her colorful marketing technique, but famed newspaper columnist Walter Winchell
Walter Winchell
Walter Winchell was an American newspaper and radio gossip commentator.-Professional career:Born Walter Weinschel in New York City, he left school in the sixth grade and started performing in a vaudeville troupe known as Gus Edwards' "Newsboys Sextet."His career in journalism was begun by posting...
would eventually write "Who's the wise guy that said 'beauty and business don't mix?' Meet striking blonde Phyllis Morris. She's been setting this nation's furniture styling for ten years."
Style
Shortly after opening a lighting showroom in 1955 on Melrose PlaceMelrose Avenue
Melrose Avenue is an internationally renowned shopping, dining and entertainment destination in Los Angeles that starts from Santa Monica Boulevard at the border between Beverly Hills and West Hollywood and ends at Lucille Avenue in Silver Lake...
in Los Angeles, Morris began adding her own furniture designs to round out the offerings. Initially these furniture collections drew upon the Spanish Colonial look with dark woods, large carved scrollwork and baroque elements as well as other Mediterranean-inspired styles. As the 1960s approached, Morris included more modern styles using lacquer and exotic finishes and materials and moved to a larger showroom on nearby Beverly Boulevard
Beverly Boulevard
Beverly Boulevard is one of the main east-west thoroughfares in Los Angeles, California. It begins off Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills and ends on the Lucas Avenue overpass near Downtown Los Angeles to become 1st Street...
in 1961. The "swinging sixties" fueled by a youth culture fascinated with music, fashion and alternative arts and religions ushered in a freer social attitude
Attitude (psychology)
An attitude is a hypothetical construct that represents an individual's degree of like or dislike for something. Attitudes are generally positive or negative views of a person, place, thing, or event— this is often referred to as the attitude object...
towards lifestyles which gave Morris and others in the design profession an opportunity to shake up the interior design world (which still relied heavily on English and Colonial American influences) with her distinctive vision of how colorful and eclectic interiors could be.
A typical Morris room setting during the mid-1960s would find Asian, African and Pop Art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
accessories and objets d'art commingling with often large or over-scaled furniture. All together, this created a look that defined Morris' style which brought international attention to high-profile residential interiors and hotel projects where her pieces were used. Bright colors, large patterns and bold designs were devices favored by Morris to make a design statement
Design statement
A design statement is a report required under English and Welsh planning law that sets out, illustrates and justifies the process that has led to the development proposals...
wherever possible. "I'm a designer's designer," she told The Globe and Mail in 1961., alluding to her role as a source of furnishings to the top interior designers in the industry. Over the course of time, Morris developed a loyal following among interior designers and prominent figures on the Los Angeles arts and culture scene.
Becoming more entrenched in the social world
Social reality
Social reality is distinct from biological reality or individual cognitive reality, and has been defined as 'a level of phenomena that emerges through social interactions and that cannot be reduced to the intentions of individuals'....
of Los Angeles and Hollywood as her fame grew, Morris befriended many in the show business community and counted Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
, Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
, Gypsy Rose Lee
Gypsy Rose Lee
Gypsy Rose Lee was an American burlesque entertainer famous for her striptease act. She was also an actress, author, and playwright whose 1957 memoir was made into the stage musical and film Gypsy.-Early life:...
, Liberace, Joan Collins
Joan Collins
Joan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...
, Regis Philbin
Regis Philbin
Regis Francis Xavier Philbin is an American media personality, actor and singer, known for hosting talk and game shows since the 1960s. Philbin is often called "the hardest working man in show business" and holds the Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of a television camera...
and author Harold Robbins
Harold Robbins
Harold Robbins was one of the best-selling American authors of all time. During his career, he wrote over 25 best-sellers, selling over 750 million copies in 32 languages....
, to name a few, as part of her inner circle
Social network
A social network is a social structure made up of individuals called "nodes", which are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.Social...
. And so impressive were Morris' parties at both her Beverly Hills home and her Los Angeles showroom that Town & Country magazine wrote "Certainly this was THE top party of the holiday season," referring to a 1966 soiree at Morris' 17-room manse. Many Hollywood film fans would have relished being at the Morris showroom in 1970 when Joan Crawford stopped in to look for artwork for her home. Morris offered the screen legend a Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
. The following day, 20 cases of Pepsi
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...
-Cola arrived at the Phyllis Morris showroom with a note from Crawford saying "Pour all those Cokes down the drain."
Humour
Humour or humor is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement...
. "I don't think anyone in our family is hurt by the fact that I don't scrub floors or peel potatoes," she told Home Furnishings Daily. "As a matter of fact, they'd rather I wouldn't because I'm so bad at housekeeping.
Extravagant Interiors
In addition to designing furniture for residences in Los Angeles and around the country, Morris enjoyed creating pieces for high-roller suites in Las Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
where her opulent style was a perfect match. Her interiors for the Imperial Suite at the International Hotel
International Hotel
International Hotel may refer to:* International Hotel , a historic building* The I-Hotel, a residential hotel and community center in San Francisco, California* The former name of the Las Vegas Hilton...
built by mega-developer Kirk Kerkorian
Kirk Kerkorian
Kerkor "Kirk" Kerkorian is an American businessman who is the president/CEO of Tracinda Corporation, his private holding company based in Beverly Hills, California. Kerkorian is known as one of the important figures in shaping Las Vegas and, with architect Martin Stern, Jr...
cost more than $200,000 to furnish, a handsome sum for 1970. A columnist reported in the Chicago Tribune that helicopters were needed to airlift Morris' massively-scaled furniture through the penthouse windows. "She's tops in this town," said writer Norma Lee Browning about Morris. The first occupant of this 6000 square feet (557.4 m²) suite was Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, followed by Jackie and Aristotle Onassis
Aristotle Onassis
Aristotle Sokratis Onassis , commonly called Ari or Aristo Onassis, was a prominent Greek shipping magnate.- Early life :Onassis was born in Karatass, a suburb of Smyrna to Socrates and Penelope Onassis...
for whom the space was originally designed. Morris always wondered what the former First Lady
First Lady
First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...
and the Greek shipping tycoon thought of the fur rugs she used throughout. Morris also provided furnishings for Elvis Presley's 4000 square feet (371.6 m²) suite at the Las Vegas Hilton
Las Vegas Hilton
The Las Vegas Hilton is a hotel, casino, and convention center in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is a joint venture between Colony Capital, which owns 60 percent, and New York City-based REIT Whitehall Street Real Estate Funds, which owns the remaining 40 percent...
in the mid-1970s with its black carpeting and furniture upholstered in white and yellow silk. "We had to redo his sofas twice a year," Morris told the Houston Chronicle. "He didn't care if he damaged the room, but he didn't want anybody else hurting things. And there were always white and yellow orchids."
Feature story
- Published Features & news :While the distinction between published features and news is often clear, when approached conceptually there are few hard boundaries between the two. It is quite possible to write a feature in the style of a news story, for instance...
on her in 1978, noting such clients as Gladys Knight
Gladys Knight
Gladys Maria Knight , known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer-songwriter, actress, businesswoman, humanitarian, and author...
, Allan Carr
Allan Carr
Allan Carr was an American producer and manager of stage and screen. Carr was nominated for numerous awards, winning a Tony Award and two People's Choice Awards, and was named Producer of the Year by the National Association of Theatre Owners.-Early career:Born Allan Solomon in Chicago, Illinois,...
, Cher and even Who drummer Keith Moon
Keith Moon
Keith John Moon was an English musician, best known for being the drummer of the English rock group The Who. He gained acclaim for his exuberant and innovative drumming style, and notoriety for his eccentric and often self-destructive behaviour, earning him the nickname "Moon the Loon". Moon...
(for whom Morris outfitted a Malibu, California beach house
Beach house
A beach house is a house on or near a beach, generally used as a vacation or second home for people who commute to the house on weekends or during vacation periods....
). "I knew I had to make something that no one else could build cheaper," said Morris about her beds. "In Vegas, I've done beds in gold with gold inlays." Among the interiors and furnishings Morris created for film producer Allan Carr (Grease; Grease 2) was a glittering Egyptian-themed subterranean disco in his Beverly Hills house where actors John Travolta
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
and Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles and 14 of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA...
danced the night away for the paparazzi. Newton-John would later appear in a risque photo taken in the Phyllis Morris showroom by renowned photographer Helmut Newton
Helmut Newton
Helmut Newton, born Helmut Neustädter was a German-Australian photographer. He was a "prolific, widely imitated fashion photographer whose provocative, erotically charged black-and-white photos were a mainstay of Vogue and other publications."-Early life:Newton was born in Berlin, the son of Klara...
who posed the singer topless for her 1985 "Soul Kiss" album artwork.
Business leadership
Active in the business sector of the design community as well, Phyllis Morris was vice president of the Beverly-Robertson Association, a Los Angeles-based organization she helped established in 1979 to "upgrade the appearance of the West Side design center area centered on Beverly and Robertson boulevards and to create a unique visual identity for it." This was the first organization of its kind for L.A.'s booming interior design district which would later separate from Los Angeles in 1984 to become the City of West Hollywood. After cityhood was achieved due to the efforts of Morris and others in the design district, she would go on to serve on the board of directorsBoard of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
for the West Hollywood Marketing Corporation.
Fundraising
Fundraising or fund raising is the process of soliciting and gathering voluntary contributions as money or other resources, by requesting donations from individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies...
events for more than three decades, as well as fashion and art shows. During the early 1960s, Morris befriended artist Margaret Keane
Margaret Keane
Margaret Keane is an American artist. She is an illustrator and painter, and mainly draws women and children in oil or mixed media. Her works are instantly recognizable from the doe-eyed children that are depicted in the drawings.-Biography:Margaret D. H...
, a painter known internationally for her big-eyed "waifs." Morris hosted a number of shows for Keane in Los Angeles and would eventually commission dozens of works from her—works which are still owned by Morris' family members. The late famed fashion commentator Mr. Blackwell
Mr. Blackwell
Richard Blackwell was an American fashion critic, journalist, television and radio personality, artist, former child actor and former fashion designer, sometimes known just as Mr. Blackwell. He was the creator of the "Ten Worst Dressed Women List", an annual awards presentation he unveiled in...
wrote of Morris, "Her showroom has been the scene for raising literally millions of dollars over the years for worthy causes...she has become one of the great hostesses in town."
The 1980s
In the 1980s, Morris wrote a long-running column which appeared in the Beverly Hills Courier, the Baltimore Sun and the Orange County Register appropriately named "Living in Style," in which she dispensed advice on decorating ranging from the practical to the extravagant. Morris was also a frequent guest on the Los Angeles television show A.M. Los Angeles in the early 1980s where she demonstrated interior design techniques for host Regis Philbin.Shortly before her untimely passing, Morris was named Woman of the Year
Woman of the Year
Woman of the Year is a romantic comedy film. The movie is about an emancipated woman, chosen "Woman of the Year", and her colleague-turned-husband and their efforts to negotiate a path to marital bliss....
in 1988 by City of Hope
City of Hope National Medical Center
City of Hope National Medical Center, is a private, not-for-profit clinical research center, hospital and graduate medical school located in Duarte, California, United States...
hospital in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
. Morris also received a commendation in November 1988 from Los Angeles mayor
Mayor of Los Angeles, California
The mayor of Los Angeles is the chief executive officer of the city. He is elected for a four-year term and limited to serving no more than two terms. Under the California Constitution, all judicial, school, county, and city offices, including those of chartered cities, are nonpartisan...
Tom Bradley
Tom Bradley (politician)
Thomas J. "Tom" Bradley was the 38th Mayor of Los Angeles, California, serving in that office from 1973 to 1993. He was the first and to date only African American mayor of Los Angeles...
recognizing her achievements as "an outstanding woman in America."
Because of their dramatic design and presence, many Phyllis Morris pieces have been featured in both films and television shows ranging from Dynasty in the 1980s to Oceans 12 in 2004 as well as music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s in 2007 and 2008 by Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
and P. Diddy
Sean Combs
Sean John Combs , also known by his stage names Diddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He has won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and his clothing line earned a Council of Fashion Designers of America award. He was originally...
to name a few.
In 2005, the Phyllis Morris Originals showroom moved from its 8772 Beverly Boulevard location to 655 N. Robertson Boulevard
Robertson Boulevard
Robertson Boulevard is a street in Los Angeles that also passes through the incorporated cities of West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Culver City....
in West Hollywood, approximately three blocks to the northwest. The company has been headed by Morris' daughter Jamie Adler who runs the business along with her husband John Adler
John Adler
John Herbert Adler was a U.S. Representative for , serving from 2009 until 2011. He was a member of the Democratic Party. He was formerly a member of the New Jersey Senate from 1992 to 2009, where he represented the 6th Legislative District. The district stretches from the suburbs of Philadelphia...
and her father Nathan Goller. With the move to Robertson Boulevard, the company added two divisions: Circa Furniture which offers a contemporary collection of furniture; and 655 Home, a luxury home accessories boutique created by Adler as well. Today Phyllis Morris Originals remains an international resource for high-end custom furniture.
External links
- http://www.phyllismorris.com
- http://www.facebook.com/pages/Phyllis-Morris/328098330292