George James Hopkins

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George "Neje" James Hopkins (* 23. March 1896 in Pasadena , California ; † 11. February 1985 in Los Angeles , California) was an American art director , costume and Production Designer , four times the Oscar for Best Production Design received .

Life

Hopkins began as a costume and set designer and worked as such with William Desmond Taylor for eight years until his murder on February 1, 1922, which has not yet been clarified. During this time he also began working with Theda Bara , a star of the silent film era , with whom he had a lifelong close friendship. In the course of his decades-long career in the Hollywood film industry, he was involved in the equipment of around 90 film productions .

Hopkins was nominated for an Oscar for the best production design for the first time at the Academy Awards in 1944 , on the one hand together with John Hughes and John Koenig for the color film This Is the Army (1943), on the other hand with Carl Jules Weyl for the black and white film Ambassador in Moscow (1943) . In 1948 he and Robert H. Hass received the Oscar nomination for the best production design in Our Life with Father (1947). He received the first Oscar for best production design at the Academy Awards in 1952 together with Richard Day for Endstation Sehnsucht (1951). Further Oscar nominations for best production design were in 1955 with Malcolm C. Bert , Gene Allen and Irene Sharaff for the color film A New Star in the Sky , 1959 with MC Bert for The Great Aunt (Auntie Mame, 1958), 1961 with Edward Carrere for the color film Sunrise at Campobello (1960), before being nominated twice at the 1963 Academy Awards , on the one hand with Paul Groesse for the color film Music Man (1962) and on the other hand with Joseph C. Wright for the black and white film Die Tage des Weines and of roses (1963).

He received his second Oscar with G. Allen and Cecil Beaton in 1965 for the production design in the color film My Fair Lady (1964). After he was nominated for the 1966 Oscar for production design in the color film Damned, Sweet World (1965) with Robert Clatworthy , he received at the 1967 Academy Awards together with Richard Sylbert for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) won his third Oscar for best production design. Hopkins received his fourth and final Oscar in the category of best production design together with John DeCuir , Jack Martin Smith , Herman A. Blumenthal , Walter M. Scott and Raphael Bretton at the 1970 Oscars for Hello, Dolly! (1969).

He also worked as a production designer on the creation of Casablanca (1942) and The Stranger on the Train (1951).

George James Hopkins has worked with numerous film directors including Michael Curtiz , Elia Kazan , George Cukor , Morton DaCosta , Vincent J. Donohue , Blake Edwards , Robert Mulligan , Mike Nichols , Gene Kelly and Alfred Hitchcock throughout his career .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Hopkins, George James
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hopkins, Neje (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American costume and production designer
DATE OF BIRTH March 23, 1896
PLACE OF BIRTH Pasadena , California
DATE OF DEATH February 11, 1985
Place of death Los Angeles , California