Tomas Velasco, a tailor for the Hollywood studios for six decades, died peacefully on Sept. 2 in Montebello, Calif. He was 93.
Velasco started at Warner Bros. before World War II, then worked at the Western Costume Co. and MGM. In the 1970s, he started at Universal Studios, where he finished his career in 2004.
Velasco made clothes for actors ranging from Errol Flynn and Gary Cooper to Arnold Schwarzenegger and helped dress the actors on films including “Seabiscuit,” “Lolita,” “The Quick and the Dead,” “The Rat Pack,” “Forrest Gump,” two “Back to the Future” films, “Dick Tracy,” “Casino,” “Three Amigos” and “Austin Powers.”
In 2004, Velasco was awarded the Costume Designers Guild President’s Award, becoming the only tailor to be so honored.
Velasco is survived by sons Tom and Edward, daughter Esther, three grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
