John Meehan (production designer)

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John Francis "Frenchy" Meehan (born June 13, 1902 in Tehachapi , California ; † May 15, 1963 ) was an American architect , art director and production designer who won three Oscar for best production design .

Life

After finishing school, Meehan studied architecture at the University of Southern California and then worked for Paramount Pictures in 1935 before working for Columbia Pictures between 1951 and 1953 . After working for the first time with I Wanted Wings on the production of a film in 1941 , he worked in the Hollywood film industry until 1962 on the stage equipment of almost fifty films and television series .

At the Academy Awards in 1950 he won an Oscar for best production design for the first time, together with Harry Horner and Emile Kuri for the black and white film The Heiress (1949) by William Wyler with Olivia de Havilland , Montgomery Clift and Ralph Richardson in the leading roles . The following year, at the 1951 Academy Awards , he and Hans Dreier , Sam Comer and Ray Moyer received his second Oscar for best production design in Twilight Boulevard (1950), a film drama directed by Billy Wilder starring Gloria Swanson , William Holden and Erich von Stroheim . He received his third and final Oscar again with Kuri in 1955 for the color film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), which Richard Fleischer made based on the novel by Jules Verne with Kirk Douglas , James Mason and Paul Lukas .

From the mid-1950s, Meehan began working increasingly for television and in 1957 received an Emmy nomination for best art direction for the television series General Electric Theater produced by the CBS (1953) together with John Robert Lloyd, John J. Lloyd, Martin Obzina and George Patrick .

For his achievements in the film industry, he was also in 2008 posthumously into the Hall of Fame of the Art Director's Guild added.

Filmography (selection)

Awards

  • 1950 : Oscar for best production design in a black and white film
  • 1951 : Oscar for best production design in a black and white film
  • 1955 : Oscar for the best production design in a color film

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Meehan, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Meehan, John Francis (full name); Meehan, Frenchy (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American architect, art director and production designer
DATE OF BIRTH June 13, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH Tehachapi , California
DATE OF DEATH May 15, 1963