Ted Graber (1920 – June 3, 2000) was an American

interior designer Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...

. He designed many private residences in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. During the

Reagan administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over D ...

, he designed the family quarters of the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

and the official residence of the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom,

Winfield House Winfield House is an English townhouse in Regent's Park, central London and the official residence of the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. The grounds are , the second-largest private garden in London after that of Buckingham P ...

Early life

Ted Graber was born circa 1920 in

. His father was a cabinet-maker and an

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

. His grandfather was also an antiquarian. He had a brother, Raymond. Graber studied at the

Chouinard Art Institute The Chouinard Art Institute was a professional art school founded in 1921 by Nelbert Murphy Chouinard (1879–1969) in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. In 1961, Walt and Roy Disney guided the merger of the Chouinard Art In ...

. He served in the United States Army during World War II.

Career

Graber began his career as an assistant to interior designer William Haines. Graber and Haines remodelled windows in

Spanish Revival The Spanish Colonial Revival Style ( es, Arquitectura neocolonial española) is an architectural stylistic movement arising in the early 20th century based on the Spanish Colonial architecture of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. In the ...

houses, adding larger windows to bring in more sunlight. As an independent interior designer, Graber's style was traditional with a touch of glamour. He often mixed antique furniture, particularly from the Regency era, with more modern pieces of furniture. He also added Asian figurines. Graber was hired by First Lady

Nancy Reagan Nancy Davis Reagan (; born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, 1921 – March 6, 2016) was an American film actress and First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989. She was the second wife of president Ronald Reagan. Reagan was born in N ...

to redecorate the family quarters of the

in 1981. He also decorated the Reagans's private residence at 668 St. Cloud Road in Bel Air, Los Angeles. Additionally, he designed President Reagan's office in

Century City Century City is a 176-acre (71.2 ha) neighborhood and business district in Los Angeles, California. Located on the Westside to the south of Santa Monica Boulevard around 10 miles (16 km) west of Downtown Los Angeles, Century City is one of ...

. Graber was succeeded by Peter Schifando as the Reagan's designer at Bel-Air. Meanwhile, Graber was hired by

Walter Annenberg Walter Hubert Annenberg (March 13, 1908 – October 1, 2002) was an American businessman, investor, philanthropist, and diplomat. Annenberg owned and operated Triangle Publications, which included ownership of ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' ...

and his wife,

Leonore Annenberg Leonore Cohn Annenberg (February 20, 1918 – March 12, 2009), also known as Lee Annenberg, was an American businesswoman, diplomat, and philanthropist. She was noted for serving as Chief of Protocol of the United States from 1981 to 1982. Annenb ...

, to design their

Sunnylands Sunnylands, the former Annenberg Estate, located in Rancho Mirage, California, is a estate currently run by The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands, a not-for-profit organization. The property was owned by Walter and Leonore Annenberg ...

residence in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land a ...

, as well as

, the official residence of the US Ambassador in London. Additionally, he designed the private residence of

Alfred S. Bloomingdale Alfred Schiffer Bloomingdale (April 15, 1916 – August 23, 1982) was an heir to the Bloomingdale's department store fortune, "father of the credit card", and the lover of murdered mistress Vicki Morgan.Betsy Bloomingdale. In New York City, he was hired to design the apartments of Jack Warner and Joan Crawford. Graber retired in 1989.

Personal life and death

Graber was gay and lived with his partner Archie Case for forty years. The couple stayed the night at the White House after Nancy Reagan's sixtieth birthday. Graber contracted

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

. He lived in a retirement home in Sonoma, California, where he died on June 3, 2000. He was 80 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graber, Ted 1920s births 2000 deaths Artists from Los Angeles United States Army personnel of World War II American interior designers American gay artists Deaths from dementia in California Deaths from Alzheimer's disease LGBT people from California United States Army soldiers 20th-century American LGBT people