Sergee of California

My father, Maxwell A. (Rudy) Rudolph was the scion of an East Coast dress manufacturing company called Rudolph-Marged founded by his father Morris Rudolph and his father’s brother-in-law Solomon Marged. I think the origins were in Philadelphia, but by the 1930s their company was based in New York City’s apparel district. At the time, I believe it was a major dress company. My mother, Sergee (real name Shirley Jean Feldman) moved to NYC for career purposes after one year at UCLA. I believe she got an initial job as a model for Rudolph-Marged, but by 1939 she married the “boss’s son” and I think continued to work with my father in the city, delegating much of the raising of me (born 1941) and my sister Nicki (born 1943).

However by the end of WWII, she and my dad moved back to her family’s home city of Los Angeles (arriving on 11/11/1945), and with the partial backing of my dad’s father started their own company: Sergee of California (“dresses for women 5’4” and under”). My dad would be CEO, my mom chief designer. My mom’s younger brother Jimmy was one of the salesmen, and my mom’s mother Esther, was an occasional model at fashion shows. The company had an entire building devoted to the business, with over a hundred employees.

Rudolph sold the business to Jack Needleman in the latter half of the 1950s. The new name of the brand was Sergee-Ann, although some labels from the 1960s read just “Sergee” and others read “Sergee-Ann”. The company went out of business on July 30, 1970.

Our thanks to Ken Rudolph for providing information.

hangtag c. 1950

Courtesy of Ken Rudolph

from a 1951 skirt suit

Courtesy of denisebrain