Monty Berman, the legendary British costumier, died in Monte Carlo on Monday after a short illness. Berman was head of the London-based costume house Berman's, which later became Berman's And Nathan's.

His list of clients encompassed some of the biggest names in movies including Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Katharine Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Richard Harris, John Mills, Sean Connery and Roger Moore. 'He belongs to that group of industry figures who care about the industry and who always put craft before profit," said David Puttnam recently.

Berman was born the son of Russian immigrants in the east end of London in 1912. He was a squadron leader in the Royal Air Force in World War II and helped organise the famous 654 Squadron, for which he received the MBE.

In 1972, he successfully merged Berman's, which was founded by his father master tailor Morris Berman in 1900 to make costumes for west end musicals, with Nathan's which had been making costumes for the London stage for 200 years.

From the 1950s to 1980s, the company costumed a cannon of classic movies such as the entire James Bond series, The African Queen, Lawrence Of Arabia, Dr Zhivago, A Man For All Seasons, Cleopatra, Murder On The Orient Express, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Gandhi, Chariots Of Fire and Star Wars.

Monty Berman became the Chief Barker of the children's charity organisation Variety Club of Great Britain in 1960, having held the position as chairman of appeals for many years. He is survived by his second wife Maya and two daughters Rocky and Lesley.