Albert Whitlock

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Albert Whitlock (born September 15, 1915 in London , England - † October 26, 1999 in Santa Barbara , California ) was a British matte painter .

Life

Whitlock began his film career at Gaumont Studios in London in the late 1920s . After various auxiliary activities, he worked with Alfred Hitchcock for the first time in 1934 ; initially as a special effects assistant at The Man Who Knew Too Much and the following year as a backdrop painter for The 39 Steps . This was the beginning of a long-term collaboration, in total Whitlock worked on twelve films by Hitchcock up to his last film Family Grave in 1976.

After the end of World War II , Whitlock got a job with Walt Disney , after which he moved to the United States . He stayed with Disney for seven years and moved to Universal Studios in 1961 . In 1966 he created the backdrop of the abandoned planet Delta Vega for the television series Spaceship Enterprise . For the disaster film earthquake , he created 70 painted backdrops and received the Special Achievement Award for this . The following year he was again awarded the Special Achievement Award for Die Hindenburg . He stayed with Universal until his retirement in 1985 and worked occasionally as a consultant, including for Joe Dante's Gremlins 2 - The Return of the Little Monsters . Whitlock was a leading matte painting artist for almost six decades and has appeared in over 150 films.

Filmography (selection)

Awards

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Whitlock, Albert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Whitlock, Albert J. (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British special effects artist
DATE OF BIRTH September 15, 1915
PLACE OF BIRTH London , England
DATE OF DEATH October 26, 1999
Place of death Santa Barbara , California