Wiard Ihnen
Wiard Boppo "Bill" Ihnen (August 5, 1897[1] – June 22, 1979) was an American art director. He was active from 1919 to 1960 and won Academy Awards for Best Art Direction for Wilson (1944) and Blood on the Sun (1945). He was married to Edith Head.
Early years
Ihnen was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. His age and year of birth are uncertain. While some sources indicate he was born in 1897, his obituary in the Los Angeles Times reported his age as 91, indicating that he was born in approximately 1888.[2]
His father, Henry S. Ihnen, was an architect and painter. Ihnen attended public schools in East Rutherford, New Jersey.[3] He worked for a time as the assistant to a prominent New York architect and studied architecture at Columbia University. He also studied at École des Beaux-Arts de Paris, spent a year at the art centers of Spain and France, and studied color and technique at the University of Mexico.[3][4]
Art direction
Ihnen first worked in the motion picture business in approximately 1919 at Paramount Studios on Long Island.[3][4] After several years with Paramount in New York, he become an art director at Paramount's Hollywood studios.[3]
One of his earliest works as an art director was the Josef von Sternberg's 1932 film, Blonde Venus. He drew attention for his design of "fantastically exotic" African nightclub in the film.[5]
Other early art directing credits include the Marx Brothers' Duck Soup (1933) and a pair of Mae West comedies: Go West, Young Man (1936) and Every Day's a Holiday. Ihnen received his first Academy Awards nomination for Best Art Direction on Every Day's a Holiday.[6] He also worked as the associate art director on John Ford's Stagecoach which won the Academy Award for art direction for Alexander Toluboff.
During the 1940s, Ihnen twice won the Academy Award for art direction, for the biographical film Wilson (1944) and for Blood on the Sun (1945), a wartime film about a Japanese plot to take over the world.[7][8]
Ihnen continued as an art director until 1960. His later works include the film noir works Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1950) and I, the Jury (1953), Fritz Lang's Rancho Notorious (1952), the aviation adventure film Top of the World (1955), and the biographical The Gallant Hours (1960).
Personal life and later years
In 1940, Ihnen was married in Las Vegas to Hollywood dress designer Edith Head.[9] Ihnen died from cancer in 1979.[2] He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, next to his wife.[10]
Filmography
- The Dance of Life (1929, set design)[11]
- Blonde Venus (1932, art director)
- Madame Butterfly (1932)
- Duck Soup (1933, art director)[12]
- Terror Aboard (1933, art director)
- Good Dame (1934, art director)
- Thirty-Day Princess (1934, art director)
- The Trumpet Blows (1934, art director)
- [[Becky Sharp (1935)[3]
- Dancing Pirate (1936, art director)
- Go West, Young Man (1936, art director)
- Mind Your Own Business (1936, art director)
- Every Day's a Holiday (1937, art director)[13]
- The Girl from Scotland Yard (1937, art director)
- Love on Toast (1937, art director)
- Midnight Madonna (1937, art director)
- On Such a Night (1937, art director)
- Outcast (1937 art director)
- Doctor Rhythm (1938, art director)
- Hollywood Cavalcade (1939, art director)
- The Return of the Cisco Kid (1939, art director)
- Stagecoach (1939, associate art director)
- The Blue Bird (1940, art director)
- Johnny Apollo (1940, art director)
- Maryland (1940, art director)
- The Return of Frank James (1940, art director)
- Youth Will Be Served (1940, art director)
- Confirm or Deny (1941, art director)
- Hudson's Bay (1941, art director)
- Man Hunt (1941, art director)
- Moon Over Miami (1941, art director)
- Remember the Day (1941, art director)
- Tall, Dark and Handsome (1941, art director)
- Iceland (1942, art director)
- The Magnificent Dope (1942, art director)
- Roxie Hart (1942, art director)
- Secret Agent of Japan (1942, art director)
- China Girl (1943, art director)
- Crash Dive (1943, art director)
- Jane Eyre (1944, art director)
- Wilson (1944, art director)[14]
- Along Came Jones (1945, production design)
- Blood on the Sun (1945, production design)[15]
- It's a Pleasure (1945, art director)
- Tomorrow Is Forever (1946, production design)
- The Time of Your Life (1948, production design)
- Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1950, production design)
- Only the Valiant (1951, production design)
- Rancho Notorious (1952, production design)
- I, the Jury (1953, art director)
- A Lion Is in the Streets (1953, production design)
- War Paint (1953, art director)
- This Is My Love (1954, production design)
- Crashout (1955, set design)
- The Indian Fighter (1955, art director)
- Top of the World (1955, art director)
- The King and Four Queens (1956, production design)
- The Gallant Hours (1960, art director)
References
- ^ a b Note: His obituary in the Los Angeles Times suggests he was born in approximately 1888.
- ^ a b "Wiard Ihnen Dies; Won Oscars for Movie Art Direction Work". Los Angeles Times. June 26, 1979 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e "Wirad B. Ihnen Leaves for the Coast After Visit Here". The Herald-News. August 14, 1935. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Baxter, Peter J. (November 13, 1993). Just watch!: Sternberg, Paramount and America. British Film Institute. ISBN 9780851703862 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Art Director: The Vision of Wiard Ihnen". Backstory: New Looks at Classic Films. February 24, 2019. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
- ^ "The 10th Academy Awards 1938". Oscars.org. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
- ^ "The 17th Academy Awards (1945) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
- ^ "The 18th Academy Awards (1946) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
- ^ Hedda Hopper (September 30, 1940). "Film Fashions Expert Married". Los Angeles Times – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Ellenberger, Allan R. (May 1, 2001). Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. McFarland. ISBN 9780786409839.
- ^ "Nancy Carroll and Hal Skelly Star In Love Melodrama at the Regen". The Ottawa Citizen. November 16, 1929 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Duck Soup". American Film Institute. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
- ^ "Every Day's a Holiday". TCM Classic Movies. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
- ^ "Wilson". TCM Classic Movies. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
- ^ "Blood on the Sun". TCM Classic Movies. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
External links
- Wiard Ihnen at IMDb
- Wiard Ihnen at AllMovie
- Wiard Ihnen at Find a Grave
- Wiard Ihnen papers at the Margaret Herrick Library
- v
- t
- e
Interior Decoration
- 1927/1928: William Cameron Menzies
- 1929/1929: Cedric Gibbons
- 1929/1930: Herman Rosse
- 1930/1931: Max Rée
- 1931/1932: Gordon Wiles
- 1932/1933: William S. Darling
- 1934: Cedric Gibbons, Fredric Hope
- 1935: Richard Day
- 1936: Richard Day
- 1937: Stephen Goosson
- 1938: Carl Jules Weyl
- 1939: Lyle R. Wheeler
Black & White
/ Color separate
- 1940 (bw): Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse / (c): Vincent Korda
- 1941 (bw): Richard Day, Nathan Juran, Thomas Little / (c): Cedric Gibbons, Urie McCleary, Edwin B. Willis
- 1942 (bw): Richard Day, Joseph C. Wright, Thomas Little / (c): Richard Day, Joseph C. Wright, Thomas Little
- 1943 (bw): James Basevi, William S. Darling, Thomas Little / (c): Alexander Golitzen, John B. Goodman, Russell A. Gausman, Ira S. Webb
- 1944 (bw): Cedric Gibbons, William Ferrari, Paul Huldschinsky, Edwin B. Willis / (c): Wiard Ihnen, Thomas Little
- 1945 (bw): Wiard Ihnen, A. Roland Fields / (c): Hans Dreier, Ernst Fegté, Samuel M. Comer
- 1946 (bw): William S. Darling, Lyle R. Wheeler, Thomas Little, Frank E. Hughes / (c): Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse, Edwin B. Willis
Art Direction
- Set Decoration
Black & White
/ Color separate
- 1947 (bw): John Bryan, Wilfred Shingleton / (c): Alfred Junge
- 1948 (bw): Roger K. Furse, Carmen Dillon / (c): Hein Heckroth, Arthur Lawson
- 1949 (bw): Harry Horner, John Meehan, Emile Kuri / (c): Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse, Edwin B. Willis, Jack D. Moore
- 1950 (bw): Hans Dreier, John Meehan, Samuel M. Comer, Ray Moyer / (c): Hans Dreier, Walter Tyler, Samuel M. Comer, Ray Moyer
- 1951 (bw): Richard Day, George James Hopkins / (c): Cedric Gibbons, E. Preston Ames, Edwin B. Willis, F. Keogh Gleason
- 1952 (bw): Cedric Gibbons, Edward Carfagno, Edwin B. Willis, F. Keogh Gleason /(c): Paul Sheriff, Marcel Vertès
- 1953 (bw): Cedric Gibbons, Edward Carfagno, Edwin B. Willis, Hugh Hunt / (c): Lyle R. Wheeler, George Davis, Walter M. Scott, Paul S. Fox
- 1954 (bw): Richard Day / (c): John Meehan, Emile Kuri
- 1955 (bw): Hal Pereira, Tambi Larsen, Samuel M. Comer, Arthur Krams / (c): William Flannery, Jo Mielziner, Robert Priestley
- 1956 (bw): Cedric Gibbons, Malcolm F. Brown, Edwin B. Willis, F. Keogh Gleason / (c): Lyle R. Wheeler, John DeCuir, Walter M. Scott, Paul S. Fox
Black & White
/ Color separate
- 1959 (bw): Lyle R. Wheeler, George Davis, Walter M. Scott, Stuart A. Reiss / (c): William A. Horning (posthumous award), Edward Carfagno, Hugh Hunt
- 1960 (bw): Alexandre Trauner, Edward G. Boyle /(c): Alexander Golitzen, Eric Orbom (posthumous award), Russell A. Gausman, Julia Heron
- 1961 (bw): Harry Horner, Gene Callahan / (c): Boris Leven, Victor A. Gangelin
- 1962 (bw): Alexander Golitzen, Henry Bumstead, Oliver Emert /(c): John Box, John Stoll, Dario Simoni
- 1963 (bw): Gene Callahan / (c): John DeCuir, Jack Martin Smith, Hilyard M. Brown, Herman A. Blumenthal, Elven Webb, Maurice Pelling, Boris Juraga, Walter M. Scott, Paul S. Fox, Ray Moyer
- 1964 (bw): Vassilis Photopoulos /(c): Gene Allen, Cecil Beaton, George James Hopkins
- 1965 (bw): Robert Clatworthy, Joseph Kish /(c): John Box, Terence Marsh, Dario Simoni
- 1966 (bw): Richard Sylbert, George James Hopkins / (c): Jack Martin Smith, Dale Hennesy, Walter M. Scott, Stuart A. Reiss
- 1967: John Truscott, Edward Carrere, John W. Brown
- 1968: John Box, Terence Marsh, Vernon Dixon, Ken Muggleston
- 1969: John DeCuir, Jack Martin Smith, Herman A. Blumenthal, Walter M. Scott, George James Hopkins, Raphaël Bretton
- 1970: Urie McCleary, Gil Parrondo, Antonio Mateos, Pierre-Louis Thévenet
- 1971: John Box, Ernest Archer, Jack Maxsted, Gil Parrondo, Vernon Dixon
- 1972: Rolf Zehetbauer, Jurgen Kiebach, Herbert Strabel
- 1973: Henry Bumstead, James W. Payne
- 1974: Dean Tavoularis, Angelo P. Graham, George R. Nelson
- 1975: Ken Adam, Roy Walker, Vernon Dixon
- 1976: George C. Jenkins, George Gaines
- 1977: John Barry, Norman Reynolds, Leslie Dilley, Roger Christian
- 1978: Paul Sylbert, Edwin O'Donovan, George Gaines
- 1979: Philip Rosenberg, Tony Walton, Edward Stewart, Gary J. Brink
- 1980: Pierre Guffroy, Jack Stephens
- 1981: Norman Reynolds, Leslie Dilley; Michael D. Ford (set)
- 1982: Stuart Craig, Robert W. Laing; Michael Seirton (set)
- 1983: Anna Asp
- 1984: Patrizia von Brandenstein; Karel Černý (set)
- 1985: Stephen B. Grimes; Josie MacAvin (set)
- 1986: Gianni Quaranta, Brian Ackland-Snow; Brian Savegar, Elio Altramura (set)
- 1987: Ferdinando Scarfiotti; Bruno Cesari, Osvaldo Desideri (set)
- 1988: Stuart Craig; Gérard James (set)
- 1989: Anton Furst; Peter Young (set)
- 1990: Richard Sylbert (art); Rick Simpson (set)
- 1991: Dennis Gassner (art); Nancy Haigh (set)
- 1992: Luciana Arrighi (art); Ian Whittaker (set)
- 1993: Allan Starski (art); Ewa Braun (set)
- 1994: Ken Adam (art); Carolyn Scott (set)
- 1995: Eugenio Zanetti (art)
- 1996: Stuart Craig (art); Stephenie McMillan (set)
- 1997: Peter Lamont (art); Michael D. Ford (set)
- 1998: Martin Childs (art); Jill Quertier (set)
- 1999: Rick Heinrichs (art); Peter Young (set)
- 2000: Timmy Yip (art)
- 2001: Catherine Martin (art); Brigitte Broch (set)
- 2002: John Myhre (art); Gordon Sim (set)
- 2003: Grant Major (art); Dan Hennah and Alan Lee (set)
- 2004: Dante Ferretti (art); Francesca Lo Schiavo (set)
- 2005: John Myhre (art); Gretchen Rau (set)
- 2006: Eugenio Caballero (art); Pilar Revuelta (set)
- 2007: Dante Ferretti (art); Francesca Lo Schiavo (set)
- 2008: Donald Graham Burt (art); Victor J. Zolfo (set)
- 2009: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg (art); Kim Sinclair (set)
- 2010: Robert Stromberg (art); Karen O'Hara (set)
- 2011: Dante Ferretti (art); Francesca Lo Schiavo (set)
- 2012: Rick Carter (art); Jim Erickson (set)
- 2013: Catherine Martin (art); Beverley Dunn (set)
- 2014: Adam Stockhausen (art); Anna Pinnock (set)
- 2015: Colin Gibson (art); Lisa Thompson (set)
- 2016: David Wasco (art); Sandy Reynolds-Wasco (set)
- 2017: Paul Denham Austerberry (art); Shane Vieau and Jeff Melvin (set)
- 2018: Hannah Beachler (art); Jay Hart (set)
- 2019: Barbara Ling (art); Nancy Haigh (set)
- 2020: Donald Graham Burt (art); Jan Pascale (set)
- 2021: Patrice Vermette (art) and Zsuzsanna Sipos (set)
- 2022: Christian M. Goldbeck (art) and Ernestine Hipper (set)
- 2023: James Price and Shona Heath (art); Zsuzsa Mihalek (set)