Kermit Love

Person

Biography

Kermit Love's Pillow visits spanned more than 60 years, beginning in 1942 when Agnes de Mille was in residence and he was working on the costume designs for her landmark ballet, Rodeo.  He described that experience in a video interview here in 1998, remembering that the ballet was then referred to as The Courting at Burnt Ranch.  His costumes were first seen at the Pillow in 1947, when Ballet Theatre presented Jerome Robbins's Fancy Free, and Twyla Tharp sported Love's designs in her first appearances here in the 70s.  He also designed costumes for Balanchine and Joffrey, but perhaps his most enduring credit is for his work with Jim Henson, including the creation of Big Bird, Mr. Snuffleupagus, Oscar the Grouch and the Cookie Monster.  For more than 50 years up until his death in June 2008 at 91, he was the partner of Christopher Lyall, who danced at the Pillow with Ballet Rambert in the 1950s and taught here in the 1960s.  One of Love's last Pillow visits was to see Basil Twist's Petrushka in 2002.  After being informed that Kermit Love was in the audience, Basil invited him to come backstage and meet the puppeteers.  A truly memorable Pillow exchange happened that afternoon, with the cast members excitedly trading experiences with one of their field's foremost pioneers.

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