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Dressing Taye Diggs

Oct 25, 2004  •  Post A Comment

The Insider asked Barbara Somerville, the Toronto-based costume designer for the UPN series that shoots in that Canadian city, how one who wasn’t born looking like star Taye Diggs gets his eye-catching “Kevin Hill” look, especially the wowie-zowie shirt-and-tie combinations that pop right off the color charts.

Think “Sex and the City” for daring men and shop Hugo Boss, Paul Smith, Canali, Alexander McQueen, Zara and Etro, she said. Though that list is heavy with high-end menswear designers-the shirts retail for $120 to $350 Canadian-Ms. Somerville said she found some of the building blocks for “Kevin’s” wardrobe at such deep discounters as New York-area Century 21. “You have to have a pretty keen eye or a lot of patience,” she said. “Sometimes a tie and a shirt find each other a month [after she picked them up].”

The pilot was more of a pastel soft sell of the “Kevin” look, but the color combos have gotten richer with each week, whether it’s his entertainment-lawyer look, his at-home jerseys and jeans or the club clothes that avoid the cookie-cutter look that dismays Ms. Somerville, who has worked on movies of the week, “The Pretender,” “La Femme Nikita” and “The Jenifer Estess Story.”

Ms. Somerville likes a really lean look for men, so she takes in the back of most of “Kevin’s” clothes to make sure they hug the buff shape of a very appreciative Mr. Diggs.

But, she said, “Just about everything we put on Taye works.”

Amen.

Remembering Joanie

ABC News Medical Editor Dr. Tim Johnson will receive the second Joanie Award, created in memory of Joan Scarangello McNieve, the “NBC Nightly News” producer and writer and lifelong nonsmoker who died in 2001 at age 47 from lung cancer. The award will be presented by Joan’s Legacy, the foundation created by family and friends to raise research money and public consciousness through journalism. At 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 16, Grammy-winner Delbert McClinton will convene with such TV news pillars as Barbara Walters, Charlie Gibson and Tom Brokaw at the Times Square Studios for this year’s benefit. There’s more info at joanslegacy.com.

YUK YUK YUK YUK YUK …

Andy Rooney aside, the two editions of “60 Minutes” have one big collective funny bone. Ed Bradley wanted to focus on comedian Dave Chappelle for the original “60 Minutes,” but his “blue sheet” proposal was submitted second last winter, so it was Bob Simon who profiled and probed Mr. Chappelle on “60 Minutes”‘ Wednesday show last week. Steve Kroft profiled Jon Stewart on “60 Minutes”‘ Sunday edition. Mr. Stewart was first profiled in 2000 by the newsmagazine. Two weeks ago “South Park” creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker were featured. That makes seven interviews with Comedy Central connections since “60 Minutes” did an “Ab Fab” piece in 1995. Ha ha ha ha … hmmmmmmmmmm.