Obituaries : Sascha Brastoff; Ceramist and Sculptor, 75

Sascha Brastoff, a ceramist and sculptor who created the 30-foot suspended cross and matching altar pieces at St. Augustine-by-the-Sea Church in Santa Monica, has died. He was 75.

Brastoff died Thursday at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica, said his longtime friend Filomena Bruno. He had suffered in recent years from prostate cancer.

Born in Cleveland, Brastoff spent World War II touring the Pacific with a USO troupe, performing in women’s clothing. The group act proved so popular that it was included in the 1944 film “Winged Victory.”

After the war, Brastoff obtained financing from Winthrop Rockefeller to start his own ceramics factory at Olympic Boulevard and Barrington Avenue in West Los Angeles. He created lamps, china and ceramic works for the home. Rockefeller said the company’s goal was “to bring fine art into everyday living.”

A colorful character on the Los Angeles social scene, Brastoff became famous for the costumes he wore to the annual Artists and Models Ball. The outfits were specially created by his friend, the late Warner Bros. costume designer Howard Shoup. In 1952, Brastoff was photographed in a Carmen Miranda costume for an advertisement in Harper’s Bazaar magazine.

He took up sculpting later in his career, creating pieces as small as jewelry and as large as the St. Augustine cross. In 1972, he lent several of his jewelry pieces to the Supremes singing group for performances in Las Vegas.

Brastoff is survived by two sisters, a brother and several nieces and nephews.