He studied Spanish dance and, as Frederico Rey, began a professional career that led to international acclaim as he and his first partner, La Argentinita, performed worldwide.
In 1942, Wittop designed costumes for the Ice Capades, George Abbott's Broadway musical Beat the Band, and Lucille Ball for her film melodrama The Big Street.
Once Wittop returned to America after the war, he had a stint dressing show girls and dancers at the Latin Quarter (nightclub) in New York City.
In 1973, Wittop retired to Ibiza, where he remained for eleven years before returning to New York to work on two more projects before settling in Tequesta, Florida.
[1][2] Wittop died at age 89 at the JFK Medical Center in Atlantis, Florida, on February 2, 2001,[1] shortly after being chosen as the 2001 recipient of the Theatre Development Fund's Irene Sharaff Award for "lifetime achievement in theatrical costume design.