5 Fun Facts with Clint Ramos

Clint Ramos is the creative genius behind some of our favorite productions—designing costumes and sets for on and off-Broadway shows including Once On This Island, Chess, In Transit, The Elephant Man, Sunday in the Park with George, and Eclipsed, which he won a Tony Award for, and he’s also a fave here at Pop Culturalist. We caught up with Clint and he shared five fun facts including how he misplaced his Tony Award.

1. He’s obsessed with Whitney Houston and her life.
“The first time I heard her voice and saw that it came out of this beautiful woman, I felt such a rush. I had not heard or seen anything like her before. She was an enigma to me. Because I grew up Catholic, she, to me, was the personification of divine providence—the voice, indeed was a gift from god. As her flaws manifested themselves over the years and as we saw the gift being squandered, I became more fascinated and obsessed at the humanization of her. I think her life is such a study in humanity—in how we create gods and monsters.”

2. He geeks out on ’90s fashion.
“It was my youth and when I truly became a participant in the design ecosystem. I mean what’s not to love? The rise of the supermodels…Azzedine Alaia, Jean Paul Gaultier and ‘Les Rabbins Chics,’ Ferre and the House of Dior….My heart just races whenever I think about it.”

3. He left his Tony Award at an ATM vestibule.
“They give you a blank one and you send it back to be engraved. When I got it back, I put the box in a shopping bag and went to the bank to take some cash out. It was after hours. I absent-mindedly put down the bag under the machine and forgot it. I was already in a cab when I realized. The cab drove back to the bank and thankfully, it was still there.”

4. His daughter’s first Halloween costume was store-bought.
“I was in the middle of putting up Once On This Island. I literally had NO time. It’s a source of deep shame. I’m not looking forward to explaining this to her when she grows up.”

Costume Design for Once On This Island.

5. He can’t stay awake on planes.
“I mean I’m not narcoleptic, but something about being on planes just puts me to sleep! I can’t help it…and it happens even before take off. My husband always says it’s a gift. On my last trans-Pacific flight from Hong Kong to New York, I slept all 16 hours of it straight.”

Make sure to follow Clint on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and to see more of his work, visit his official website.