Famed Western Clothes Designer. Born in Kiev, Russia, as Nuta Kotlyarenko, at age 11, amid pogroms against Jews, he was sent to America with his brother; there he and his wife, Bobbie Nudie Cohn, popularized sequins when the two of them designed and provided glittery sequined and rhinestone-studded suits and costumes to the entertainment industry from the 1940s to the 1980s. Their shop, Nudies Rodeo Tailors, provided creations that ranged from western styled designs such as Hank Williams’ white cowboy suit with musical notations on the sleeves to Elvis Presley’s famous $10,000 gold lamé suit featured on one of his albums (They netted $9,950 on the suit). Their designs were most popular among country and western stars like Roy Rogers and Buck Owens who wore “Nudies” to their final rest. Nudie also made sure that his cars carried his personal touch making them noticable promotional vehicles. Mostly Pontiacs, he customized them with silverplated guns, hand-tooled leather and hood-mounted horns. When he died in 1984, his wife continued Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors for another ten years. (bio by: Fred Beisser)  Family links:  Spouse:  Helen Barbara Kruger Cohn (1913 – 2006)  Children:  Barbara Lee Cohn Cuevas (1938 – 1990)* *Calculated relationship