This is the story of The Making Of "The Thorn Birds." To prepare this feature, we interviewed virtually every key member of the production team, beginning with executive producer David L. Wolper. The missing team member is William Travilla, who died in 1990. Travilla designed the costumes for "The Thorn Birds", including the extraordinary 'ashes of roses' dress which is worn by Meggie at the central moment of the story. Travilla designed costumes for the greatest stars in Hollywood. And as with every great Hollywood story, this story begins with a deal being made between two Hollywood titans.