Former Guthrie costume designer Jack Edwards has died

Jack Edwards, who ran the costume shop at the Guthrie Theater in the 1970s and '80s, died Saturday at Walker Methodist Health Center in Minneapolis.

Born in 1934 in Pennsylvania, Edwards was a graduate of Ithaca College, Edwards worked in theater in New York and for television in Hollywood before finding his way to the Twin Cities.

Edwards worked as costume director at the Guthrie from 1971 to 1989, running a busy costume shop at one of the country's largest regional theaters and working with almost all of the theater's artistic directors. He designed shows there ranging from "A Christmas Carol" and "The Misanthrope" to "Private Lives" and "Great Expectations."

After leaving the Guthrie, Edwards worked for 12 years designing costumes for the elaborate themed holiday shows at the Dayton's/Marshall Fields 8th floor auditorium. He also worked on the annual flower shows at the downtown department store.Edwards designed costumes for Prince and Lorie Line, and designed the first five Holidazzle parades in Minneapolis.

He was profiled last year in the Star Tribune on the occasion of an exhibition of some of his life's work at the Goldstein Museum in St. Paul. A more complete obituary is forthcoming in the Star Tribune.