Jerry Skeels, 68; designer got movie stars’ signatures for special gown to honor AIDS victims

Jerry Skeels, 68, a costume designer who created a “Hollywood Graffiti” gown with hand-beaded signatures of about 400 movie stars, died July 24 at home in Lake Arrowhead after a heart attack, according to publicist Harlan Boll.

Skeels and his partner, fashion designer Randy McLaughlin, worked on the dress together as a labor of love for 27 years and dedicated it to AIDS victims. It has been displayed at fundraising events for AIDS charities since 2004.

Skeels and McLaughlin collected the signatures of Lana Turner, Elizabeth Taylor, Katharine Hepburn and others -- some of them with the help of friends in the industry. They transferred the signatures onto a black velvet dress and stitched each one in silver or other beads.

In 2005 the United Nations presented Skeels and McLaughlin with the International Spirit Award for their humanitarian gesture.

Skeels also made a number of special-occasion dresses with McLaughlin, including a wedding gown that the character Nikki wore on “The Young and the Restless” daytime soap opera.

He received two Emmy nominations for his work.

Skeels was born Aug. 31, 1938, in Evansville, Ind. Early in his career he was a dancer who performed in stage musicals.

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Shirley Feenstra, a former mayor of Bellflower who was also a longtime teacher in the Bellflower Unified School District, died Tuesday of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. She was 74.