Eddie Marks was perhaps our industry’s greatest unsung collaborator of the past three decades. As president of Western Costume, Marks was an employer, mentor, unwavering supporter, and dear friend to many in the costume community. He was as invaluable to our members as the costumes he rented. Marks started in the MGM mailroom at 18, but soon found his way to the costume department, following in the footsteps of his father, costumer Lambert Marks. In 1970, he became the costume supervisor on the Richard Harris Western, A Man Called Horse (Dennis Clark), and he spent the next 20 years as a supervisor for such beloved films as The Breakfast Club (Marilyn Vance), Cocoon (Aggie Guerard Rodgers), Troop Beverly Hills (Theadora Van Runkle), Dead Poets Society (Nancy Konrardy), National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (Michael Kaplan), and Postcards from the Edge (Ann Roth). He earned an Emmy Award for his work on the 1988 CBS Movie of the Week Shakedown on the Sunset Strip (Deborah Hopper). On the recommendation of Ann Roth, he was appointed vice president of Western Costume Company in 1989. Marks oversaw the relocation of the legendary costume house from its historic home on Melrose Avenue to its present location in North Hollywood. He was named president shortly thereafter, and during his 30 years at the helm he purchased eight important collections of vintage clothing, including those of Dykeman Young and Helen Larson, bolstering Western’s already substantial stock. He was a proud early adopter and intuitively understood the company’s need to update its analog system of tracking rentals. Western became the beta tester for Rental Tracker Pro, the barcoding software that is now an industry standard. Marks had two young sons when he started at Western, and he loved that the position allowed him to be more present as they grew up. Both boys now work in the industry: his elder son, Branden, is a costume supervisor, and Garrett works at Western Costume. Marks loved to travel with his wife, Debby, and they escaped to Cabo and their house in Palm Desert whenever possible. He got his pilot’s license for his 60th birthday and flew a Cessna 182 Skylane. He was a proud Dodgers fan and loved to go to games with his grandson, Aiden. He was also an avid golfer. A member of both 705 and 892, Marks was a generous supporter of both local unions and his fellow members. It is his advocacy—of industry newcomers and veterans alike—for which Marks will best be remembered. He was an advocate for generations of costumers and costume designers, and those relationships were of paramount importance to him. He ran his sizable company like a mom-and-pop shop; every client was given special treatment, because they were all like family to him. “We have the costumes,” he said, “but the thing that really sets us apart is that we’re customer-friendly. It’s a relationship business for us.” The CDG has created the Eddie Marks Costume Scholarship in his honor.