# Peter Menefee

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{{Short description|American costume designer}}

{{Infobox person
| name               = Pete Menefee
| birth_date         = 
| birth_place        = 
| alma_mater         = 
| occupation         = [Costume designer](/source/Costume_designer), performer, dancer
}}

'''Pete Menefee''' is an American dancer, performer, and [costume](/source/Costume_designer)- and [stage-designer](/source/Scenic_design) who has worked in [Hollywood](/source/Hollywood%2C_Los_Angeles) since the 1960s. He has been nominated for four [Emmy Awards](/source/Emmy_Awards), winning three times, the most recent being in 2002 in the "Outstanding Costumes for a Variety or Music Program" for the opening ceremony of the [2002 Winter Olympics](/source/2002_Winter_Olympics), held in [Salt Lake City, Utah](/source/Salt_Lake_City).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Pete Menefee |url=https://www.emmys.com/bios/pete-menefee |access-date=2023-03-03 |website=Television Academy |language=en}}</ref> The other two were in 1980 and 1988. He was nominated in 1987.<ref name=":0" />

== Early life ==
Menefee was born in [San Diego, California](/source/San_Diego). He grew up in San Diego and in [Hawaii](/source/Hawaii). His father was a doctor in the [United States Navy](/source/United_States_Navy).<ref name=":3">{{Citation |title=Pete Menefee - A Dancer's Life |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cK4RsR_5Sjg |access-date=2023-03-04 |language=en}}</ref>

He was educated at [San Diego State University](/source/San_Diego_State_University) and at the [Chouinard Art Institute](/source/Chouinard_Art_Institute).<ref>{{Cite book |title=Performing Arts, Volume 9 |publisher=Performing Arts Network |year=1975 |pages=31}}</ref> He began taking dancing lessons at age ten.<ref name=":1">[https://special.library.unlv.edu/sites/default/files/finding-aids/OH-02654.pdf ''Guide to the Pete Menefee oral history interview''] - University of Las Vegas (2022)</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Shuffling off with Pete Menefee |url=https://champagneliving.net/shuffling-off-with-pete-menefee/ |access-date=2023-03-03 |website=champagneliving.net}}</ref> Although he did not like [ballet](/source/ballet), it was a requirement for the San Diego Civic Light Opera, which he had joined. He studied under Gladys Bowen for around six years.<ref name=":3" />

Menefee began his career as a professional dancer; his first performance was as Harvey Johnson in the 1963 film version of the stage musical ''[Bye Bye Birdie](/source/Bye_Bye_Birdie)'' at the age of 18.

At the age of 21, he was one of the twelve [chimney sweep](/source/chimney_sweep)s who appeared in the 1964 [Disney](/source/The_Walt_Disney_Company) movie ''[Mary Poppins](/source/Mary_Poppins_(film))'', supporting [Dick Van Dyke](/source/Dick_Van_Dyke) as Bert. He was only in the rooftop scene and the street scene; he had left to film for ''[My Fair Lady](/source/My_Fair_Lady)'' prior to the scene inside the Banks house.<ref name=":3" />

Menefee went on to work in television, appearing in television specials, featuring among others Ann-Margret, Nancy Sinatra, and Petula Clark. He was also performer and choreographer for ''[Where The Action Is](/source/Where_the_Action_Is)'' for [Dick Clark](/source/Dick_Clark), and was a frequent performer on ABC's ''[The Hollywood Palace](/source/The_Hollywood_Palace)''. He appeared in five movies alongside [Elvis Presley](/source/Elvis_Presley), including ''[Viva Las Vegas](/source/Viva_Las_Vegas)'', ''[Girls! Girls! Girls!](/source/Girls!_Girls!_Girls!)'', ''[Clambake](/source/Clambake_(film))'', and ''[Kissing Cousins](/source/Kissin'_Cousins)''. He also worked a lot with [Peter Foy](/source/Peter_Foy), who was known for his flying effects on stage.<ref name=":3" />  

In 1980, Menefee survived the [MGM Grand fire](/source/MGM_Grand_fire) in [Las Vegas, Nevada](/source/Las_Vegas%2C_Nevada).<ref name=":1" />

== Personal life ==
Menefee was in a relationship with [Tom Hatten](/source/Tom_Hatten) for over fifty years. Hatten died in 2019, aged 92.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Local TV host charmed L.A. for generations |url=https://enewspaper.latimes.com/infinity/article_share.aspx?guid=233180f3-4d32-475c-8234-94cf885f9136 |access-date=2023-03-03 |website=enewspaper.latimes.com}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOKg3LjZvzw "A Conversation with Costuming Legend Pete Menefee"] – Sparks Heritage Museum, YouTube, 2022

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cK4RsR_5Sjg&ab_channel=RustyFrank "Pete Menefee - A Dancer's Life"] – interview by dance preservationist Rusty Frank on December 1, 2020, YouTube 

{{DEFAULTSORT:Menefee, Peter}}
Category:Living people
Category:American costume designers
Category:20th-century American dancers
Category:Primetime Emmy Award winners
Category:Designers from San Diego
Category:San Diego State University alumni
Category:Chouinard Art Institute alumni
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:21st-century American dancers

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Peter Menefee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Menefee) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Menefee?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.