Alexander Golitzen(1908-2005)
- Art Director
- Production Designer
- Art Department
Alexander Golitzen was a legendary art director, a field in which most
worker's names remain relatively unknown. His prolific work in hundreds
of films, predominantly at Universal, made his name familiar to many
film-goers, at least among those who read credits. Possibly only
Cedric Gibbons, at MGM, shared a similar fame. Golitzen was nominated for
Academy Awards fourteen times, winning on three occasions.
Golitzen's family, noble descendants of princes of Lithuania, fled Moscow following the Russian Revolution, so he
found himself in America at the age of 16. The family settled in
Seattle and Alexander earned a degree in architecture from the
University of Washington. He moved to Los Angeles in 1933 and became an
assistant to the fellow Russian-born art director, Alexander Toluboff at MGM
working as an illustrator for Queen Christina (1933). He became an art director in
1935, and went on to work at various studios for independent producers,
including Samuel Goldwyn and Walter Wanger. His older sister, Natalie Galitzine, appeared in two Hollywood films, including Cecil B. DeMille's King of Kings.
Golitzen was Oscar-nominated for his work on Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent (1940) before
Wanger brought Golitzen to work with him at Universal on the film
Arabian Nights (1942) for which he earned his first Academy Award nomination. He
continued to show his flair for the design of Technicolor films at this
studio, and won his first academy award the very next year for Phantom of the Opera (1943).
In 1954 Alexander was named Supervising Art Director at Universal, a
title he held until his retirement in 1974. Although considered a
genius for his work in color films, with his contributions adding
considerably to the impact of diverse film subjects, including
westerns, musicals, and even the science fiction film, This Island Earth (1955), he was
also adept in black & white, earning an Oscar for To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). Golitzen
also did some notable work for television series such as The Twilight
Zone (1959) and One Step Beyond (1959). He retired on a high note, with his very last
work, on the film Earthquake (1974), being Oscar-nominated.
worker's names remain relatively unknown. His prolific work in hundreds
of films, predominantly at Universal, made his name familiar to many
film-goers, at least among those who read credits. Possibly only
Cedric Gibbons, at MGM, shared a similar fame. Golitzen was nominated for
Academy Awards fourteen times, winning on three occasions.
Golitzen's family, noble descendants of princes of Lithuania, fled Moscow following the Russian Revolution, so he
found himself in America at the age of 16. The family settled in
Seattle and Alexander earned a degree in architecture from the
University of Washington. He moved to Los Angeles in 1933 and became an
assistant to the fellow Russian-born art director, Alexander Toluboff at MGM
working as an illustrator for Queen Christina (1933). He became an art director in
1935, and went on to work at various studios for independent producers,
including Samuel Goldwyn and Walter Wanger. His older sister, Natalie Galitzine, appeared in two Hollywood films, including Cecil B. DeMille's King of Kings.
Golitzen was Oscar-nominated for his work on Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent (1940) before
Wanger brought Golitzen to work with him at Universal on the film
Arabian Nights (1942) for which he earned his first Academy Award nomination. He
continued to show his flair for the design of Technicolor films at this
studio, and won his first academy award the very next year for Phantom of the Opera (1943).
In 1954 Alexander was named Supervising Art Director at Universal, a
title he held until his retirement in 1974. Although considered a
genius for his work in color films, with his contributions adding
considerably to the impact of diverse film subjects, including
westerns, musicals, and even the science fiction film, This Island Earth (1955), he was
also adept in black & white, earning an Oscar for To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). Golitzen
also did some notable work for television series such as The Twilight
Zone (1959) and One Step Beyond (1959). He retired on a high note, with his very last
work, on the film Earthquake (1974), being Oscar-nominated.