Johnson Jacob Baur, 96, a costume designer whose extravagant creations dazzled theater, nightclub and opera audiences for more than four decades, died Saturday, Feb. 2, in his Chicago home. Mr. Baur learned to sew from his mother, and he first learned about the theater by peeking backstage at touring vaudeville productions. After moving to Chicago from Indiana, Mr. Baur studied costume design at the School of the Art Institute, graduating in 1926. He then toured as a costume designer with vaudeville shows and assisted with costume design at the Chicago Theatre. In the 1940s he started John Baur Theatrical Costumes, making a name as a designer of outrageous men’s and women’s outfits for nightclub shows. “This was a man fond of feathers, plumes and sequins–he wasn’t into understatement,” said his niece Mary Harris Russell. His clients performed at the Empire Room in the Palmer House, at the Chez Paree nightclub and in the once-famous ice shows in the Conrad Hilton Hotel’s Boulevard Room. After closing his business in 1969, he worked in the wardrobe departments of the Lyric Opera and on “Nutcracker” ballet performances. There are no immediate survivors. A service will be held this spring.
