William S. Darling

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William Sandorhazi Darling (born September 14, 1882 in Șandra , Austria-Hungary , † September 15, 1963 in Laguna Beach , California ; actually Wilmos Bela Sandorhazi ) was an American production designer and painter of Hungarian origin.

Life

After studying art at the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest and at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris , William S. Darling emigrated to the United States in 1910 . Born Wilmos Bela Sandorhazi, he took his wife's surname in the early 1920s. From 1921 he worked as an art director for film. A year later he joined Fox Film Corporation , where he soon established himself as a leader in his field. Even after the studio merged with 20th Century Pictures to form 20th Century Fox , he was still the studio's most important film architect, where he was responsible for both B-films and prestige productions. He proved himself especially with film structures for exotic locations, such as in Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935) or Night over India (1939). He was particularly often engaged for films with the then child star Shirley Temple , for example for The Smallest Rebel (1935), Shirley Ahoi! (1936) and Recruit Willie Winkie (1937). Over the years he has also worked under the direction of a number of well-known directors, including F. W. Murnau , Frank Lloyd , John Ford , Fritz Lang and John Cromwell . Together with other production designers, he was nominated a total of seven times for the Oscar in the category Best Production Design. He won the trophy for the three films Cavalcade (1933), The Song of Bernadette (1943) and Anna and the King of Siam (1946).

At the same time he worked as a painter of impressionist works , as he did before he started working in film . In the 1920s and 1930s he made numerous watercolor and gouache pictures with local landscape motifs. In the 1950s he moved mainly in the artistic circles of Laguna Beach and Palm Springs . During this time he mainly painted views of coasts and deserts with watercolors, but also with oil paints. He was also a member of the Laguna Beach Art Association. He died in Laguna Beach in 1963, the day after his 81st birthday. In 2011 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Art Directors Guild along with Robert F. Boyle and Alfred Junge .

Filmography (selection)

Awards

Oscar

Best production design

Won:

Nominated:

  • 1937: Signals to London
  • 1938: Recruit Willie Winkie (with David S. Hall )
  • 1940: Night over India (with George Dudley )
  • 1946: Key to the Kingdom of Heaven (with James Basevi, Thomas Little, Frank E. Hughes)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Eugene Michael Vazzana: Silent film Necrology . McFarland & Company, 2001, ISBN 978-0786410590 , p. 120.
  2. ↑ Joel Waldo Finler: The Hollywood Story . Wallflower Press, 2003, ISBN 1-903364-66-3 , p. 134.
  3. ↑ Shelby Hill: Production designers honored: Trio to Art Directors Guild hall of fame . In: Variety , September 20, 2011.
personal data
SURNAME Darling, William S.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sandorhazi, Wilmos Bela Sandorhazi (real name); Darling, William Sandorhazi
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American production designer
DATE OF BIRTH September 14, 1882
PLACE OF BIRTH Șandra , Austria-Hungary
DATE OF DEATH September 15, 1963
Place of death Laguna Beach , California