LOS ANGELES, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 03/05/07 -- Veteran motion picture Production Designer
Harold Michelson, one of the icons in that craft and a two-time
Academy-Award nominee (for "Terms of Endearment" and "Star Trek: The
Motion Picture"), died at the Motion Picture & Television Fund home Friday,
March 2, following a lingering illness. He was 87.
Michelson was presented the Art Directors Guild's Lifetime Achievement
Award in 1999 and the Hollywood Film Festival's Outstanding Achievement in
Production Design Award in 2002.
His other major credits as an Art Director and/or Production Designer
include "Dick Tracy," "Spaceballs," "Planes, Trains & Automobiles," "Mommie
Dearest," "Catch 22," "History of the World, Part I," "Johnny Got His Gun,"
"The Outside Man," "Hair," "Mame," "Pretty Poison," "Can't Stop the Music,"
"The Thousand Plane Raid" and "Two People." Michelson also worked as a
visual consultant on "Matilda" and "The Fly."
Michelson was widely considered to be "the industry's greatest
illustrator." Films he illustrated include "The Ten Commandments,"
"Cleopatra," "Ben Hur," "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf," "The Graduate,"
"Irma La Douce," "West Side Story," "The Apartment," "The Birds," "Fiddler
on the Roof," "A Star is Born," "From Here to Eternity," "Ship of Fools"
and "The Turning Point."
Michelson was born in New York in 1920. His first job after graduating
high school was with the Bureau of Printing in D.C. During World War II as
a bombardier-navigator in the U.S. Air Force he flew more than 40 missions
over Germany. Following the war he became an illustrator for magazines
while attending art school at New York's Arts Students League. He then
worked in Chicago and Los Angeles illustrating movie posters. His first
studio job was as an apprentice illustrator for Columbia Pictures, which
segued to his being traded to Paramount Pictures to do illustrations and
storyboards for "The Ten Commandments." At Paramount he moved up the ranks
to junior and then senior illustrator. He then moved on to MGM to work on
"Ben Hur" and then to Universal to illustrate for "Spartacus." Michelson's
career in art direction began with NBC's "Matinee Theater" and went on
from there to CBS's "The Gomer Pyle Show" and "The Andy Griffith Show." In
recent years he has been a consultant for Danny DeVito.
He is survived by his wife Lillian Michelson, who is considered to be the
dean of motion picture research; his three sons Alan, Eric and Dennis, and
two grandchildren Luca and Romeo.
A memorial service will be held March 6 at 2:00 PM at Mount Sinai Hollywood
Hills (5950 Forest Lawn Drive Los Angeles, CA 90068).
Note to media: a color image of Harold Michelson is available by contacting
Jen Coyne-Hoerle at jen@publicity4all.com
About Aaron Reed Aaron Reed is an assistant professor specializing in software architecture and design and .NET development at Neumont University in Salt Lake City, UT. He has worked professionally in the industry for over 12 years as a lead architect/designer, development manager, and VP of development. When he isn't spending time reading up on the latest in software development, Aaron loves spending time with his beautiful wife and three children.
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