Albert S. D'Agostino

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Albert S. D'Agostino (born December 27, 1892 in New York City , † March 14, 1970 in Los Angeles ) was an American film architect .

Life

Albert S. D'Agostino studied architecture and mechanical design at Columbia University and the Mechanics Institute in his hometown of New York . From 1915 he initially worked as a set designer for the theater. As such, he was able to assert himself on Broadway . In 1918 he entered the film business, where he was able to gain a foothold as an assistant production designer at MGM . When the sound film era dawned, he was employed as a film architect for small production companies. From 1934 to 1936 worked at Universal Pictures , where he was often responsible for the construction of horror films such as The Werewolf of London (1935) and Dracula's Daughter (1936). In 1938 he finally got a contract with RKO Pictures , where he replaced Van Nest Polglase as senior art director of the studio in the 1940s and was employed until 1958. Similar to Polglase, D'Agostino was known for creating complex film structures despite often tight budgets and for adapting them to the psychological condition of the film characters using metaphorical imagery.

In the course of his career, D'Agostino was involved in more than 380 film productions, worked for well-known directors such as Orson Welles , Alfred Hitchcock , Jacques Tourneur , Robert Siodmak and Otto Preminger and was nominated five times for an Oscar in the category Best Production Design, among others for Welles' film The Splendor of the Amberson House (1942). He died in Los Angeles in 1970 at the age of 77.

Filmography (selection)

Awards

Albert S. D'Agostino was nominated five times for an Oscar in the category Best Production Design:

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Michael L. Stephens: Art Directors in Cinema. A Worldwide Biographical Dictionary . McFarland, 1998, ISBN 0-7864-0312-8 , p. 66.
  2. ↑ cf. Gary Dorst in Cinefantastique , 1971, on filmreference.com
personal data
SURNAME D'Agostino, Albert S.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American film architect
DATE OF BIRTH December 27, 1892
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH March 14, 1970
Place of death los Angeles