# Alexander Golitzen

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American production designer (1908–2005)

This article is about the movie art director. For other members of the Golitsyn family named Alexander, see [Alexander Golitsyn](/source/Alexander_Golitsyn_(disambiguation)).

Prince **Alexander Golitzen** (Golitsyn) (February 28, 1908 – July 26, 2005) was a Russian-born American [production designer](/source/Production_designer) who oversaw [art direction](/source/Art_director#In_film) on more than 300 movies.

Born in Moscow in the princely [Golitsyn family](/source/Golitsyn_family), Alexander Golitzen fled the country with his parents during the [Russian Revolution](/source/Russian_Revolution_of_1917). Travelling via [Siberia](/source/Siberia) and [China](/source/China), they arrived in [Seattle](/source/Seattle), where Alexander graduated from [high school](/source/High_school). He then attended the [University of Washington](/source/University_of_Washington), where he achieved a degree in [architecture](/source/Architecture).

He started his art direction career in [Los Angeles](/source/Los_Angeles), as an assistant to [Alexander Toluboff](/source/Alexander_Toluboff), an art director for [MGM](/source/MGM). He started working with [Walter Wanger](/source/Walter_Wanger) (a [producer](/source/Film_producer)) in 1939 and they worked together for many movies. Starting in 1942, and continuing for the next 30 years, he became a unit [art director](/source/Art_director#In_film), and later a supervising art director at [Universal](/source/Universal_Pictures), overseeing dozens of productions.

Alexander Golitzen earned an [Oscar](/source/Academy_Awards) nomination for *[Foreign Correspondent](/source/Foreign_Correspondent_(film))* (1940), and received three Oscars for *[Phantom of the Opera](/source/Phantom_of_the_Opera_(1943_film))* in 1943, *[Spartacus](/source/Spartacus_(film))* in 1960 and *[To Kill a Mockingbird](/source/To_Kill_a_Mockingbird_(film))* in 1962.

He was also nominated for an Academy Award for his work on *[Sundown](/source/Sundown_(1941_film))* (1941), *[Arabian Nights](/source/Arabian_Nights_(1942_film))* (1942), *[The Climax](/source/The_Climax_(1944_film))* (1944), *[Flower Drum Song](/source/Flower_Drum_Song_(film))* (1961), *[That Touch of Mink](/source/That_Touch_of_Mink)* (1962), *[Gambit](/source/Gambit_(1966_film))* (1966), *[Thoroughly Modern Millie](/source/Thoroughly_Modern_Millie)* (1967), *[Sweet Charity](/source/Sweet_Charity_(film))* (1969), *[Airport](/source/Airport_(1970_film))* (1970), and *[Earthquake](/source/Earthquake_(1974_film))* (1974). He served on the Academy's board of directors for several years.

Alexander was married for 72 years to Frances, née Peters, who survived him. They had a daughter Cynthia, a son Peter, five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

## See also

- [Art Directors Guild Hall of Fame](/source/Art_Directors_Guild_Hall_of_Fame)

- [List of Russian Academy Award winners and nominees — Best Art Direction](/source/List_of_Russian_Academy_Award_winners_and_nominees#Best_Art_Direction)

## External links

- [Alexander Golitzen](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0326529/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier))

v t e Academy Award for Best Production Design Interior Decoration (1927–1939) 1927/1928: William Cameron Menzies 1928/1929: 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 (1940–1946) 1940 (bw): Cedric Gibbons and Paul Groesse / (c): Vincent Korda 1941 (bw): Richard Day, Nathan Juran, and Thomas Little / (c): Cedric Gibbons, Urie McCleary, and Edwin B. Willis 1942 (bw): Richard Day, Joseph C. Wright, and Thomas Little / (c): Richard Day, Joseph C. Wright, and Thomas Little 1943 (bw): James Basevi, William S. Darling, and Thomas Little / (c): Alexander Golitzen, John B. Goodman, Russell A. Gausman, and Ira S. Webb 1944 (bw): Cedric Gibbons, William Ferrari, Paul Huldschinsky, and Edwin B. Willis / (c): Wiard Ihnen and Thomas Little 1945 (bw): Wiard Ihnen and A. Roland Fields / (c): Hans Dreier, Ernst Fegté, and Samuel M. Comer 1946 (bw): William S. Darling, Lyle R. Wheeler, Thomas Little, and Frank E. Hughes / (c): Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse, and Edwin B. Willis Art Direction–Set Decoration Black & White / Color (1947–1956) 1947 (bw): John Bryan and Wilfred Shingleton / (c): Alfred Junge 1948 (bw): Roger K. Furse and Carmen Dillon / (c): Hein Heckroth and Arthur Lawson 1949 (bw): Harry Horner, John Meehan, and Emile Kuri / (c): Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse, Edwin B. Willis, and Jack D. Moore 1950 (bw): Hans Dreier, John Meehan, Samuel M. Comer, and Ray Moyer / (c): Hans Dreier, Walter Tyler, Samuel M. Comer, and Ray Moyer 1951 (bw): Richard Day and George James Hopkins / (c): Cedric Gibbons, E. Preston Ames, Edwin B. Willis, and F. Keogh Gleason 1952 (bw): Cedric Gibbons, Edward Carfagno, Edwin B. Willis, and F. Keogh Gleason /(c): Paul Sheriff and Marcel Vertès 1953 (bw): Cedric Gibbons, Edward Carfagno, Edwin B. Willis, and Hugh Hunt / (c): Lyle R. Wheeler, George Davis, Walter M. Scott, and Paul S. Fox 1954 (bw): Richard Day / (c): John Meehan and Emile Kuri 1955 (bw): Hal Pereira, Tambi Larsen, Samuel M. Comer, and Arthur Krams / (c): William Flannery, Jo Mielziner, and Robert Priestley 1956 (bw): Cedric Gibbons, Malcolm F. Brown, Edwin B. Willis, and F. Keogh Gleason / (c): Lyle R. Wheeler, John DeCuir, Walter M. Scott, and Paul S. Fox 1957–1958 1957: Ted Haworth and Robert Priestley 1958: William A. Horning, E. Preston Ames, Henry Grace, and F. Keogh Gleason Black & White / Color (1959–1966) 1959 (bw): Lyle R. Wheeler, George Davis, Walter M. Scott, and Stuart A. Reiss / (c): William A. Horning (posthumous award), Edward Carfagno, and Hugh Hunt 1960 (bw): Alexandre Trauner and Edward G. Boyle / (c): Alexander Golitzen, Eric Orbom (posthumous award), Russell A. Gausman, and Julia Heron 1961 (bw): Harry Horner and Gene Callahan / (c): Boris Leven and Victor A. Gangelin 1962 (bw): Alexander Golitzen, Henry Bumstead, and Oliver Emert /(c): John Box, John Stoll, and 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, and Ray Moyer 1964 (bw): Vassilis Photopoulos / (c): Gene Allen, Cecil Beaton, and George James Hopkins 1965 (bw): Robert Clatworthy and Joseph Kish /(c): John Box, Terence Marsh, and Dario Simoni 1966 (bw): Richard Sylbert and George James Hopkins / (c): Jack Martin Smith, Dale Hennesy, Walter M. Scott, and Stuart A. Reiss 1967–1980 1967: John Truscott, Edward Carrere, and John W. Brown 1968: John Box, Terence Marsh, Vernon Dixon, and Ken Muggleston 1969: John DeCuir, Jack Martin Smith, Herman A. Blumenthal, Walter M. Scott, George James Hopkins, and Raphaël Bretton 1970: Urie McCleary, Gil Parrondo, Antonio Mateos, and Pierre-Louis Thévenet 1971: John Box, Ernest Archer, Jack Maxsted, Gil Parrondo, and Vernon Dixon 1972: Rolf Zehetbauer, Jurgen Kiebach, and Herbert Strabel 1973: Henry Bumstead and James W. Payne 1974: Dean Tavoularis, Angelo P. Graham, and George R. Nelson 1975: Ken Adam, Roy Walker, and Vernon Dixon 1976: George C. Jenkins and George Gaines 1977: John Barry, Norman Reynolds, Leslie Dilley, and Roger Christian 1978: Paul Sylbert, Edwin O'Donovan, and George Gaines 1979: Philip Rosenberg, Tony Walton, Edward Stewart, and Gary J. Brink 1980: Pierre Guffroy and Jack Stephens 1981–2000 1981: Norman Reynolds and Leslie Dilley (art); Michael D. Ford (set) 1982: Stuart Craig and Robert W. Laing (art); Michael Seirton (set) 1983: Anna Asp (art) 1984: Patrizia von Brandenstein (art); Karel Černý (set) 1985: Stephen B. Grimes (art); Josie MacAvin (set) 1986: Gianni Quaranta and Brian Ackland-Snow (art); Brian Savegar and Elio Altramura (set) 1987: Ferdinando Scarfiotti (art); Bruno Cesari and Osvaldo Desideri (set) 1988: Stuart Craig (art); Gérard James (set) 1989: Anton Furst (art); 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–present 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) 2024: Nathan Crowley (art); Lee Sandales (set) 2025: Tamara Deverell (art); Shane Vieau (set)

v t e Art Directors Guild Hall of Fame (2010s) 2010 Malcolm F. Brown Bob Keene Ferdinando Scarfiotti 2011 Alexander Golitzen (Golitsyn) Albert Heschong Eugène Lourié 2012 Robert F. Boyle William S. Darling Alfred Junge 2013 E. Preston Ames Richard Macdonald Edward S. Stephenson 2014 Robert Clatworthy Harper Goff J. Michael Riva 2015 John Gabriel Beckman Charles Lisanby Walter H. Tyler 2016 Carmen Dillon Patricia Norris Dorothea Holt Redmond Dianne Wager 2017 Gene Allen 2019 Ben Carré Anthony Masters Complete list 2000s 2010s 2020s

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND WorldCat National United States Italy People Deutsche Biographie Other IdRef Yale LUX

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Alexander Golitzen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Golitzen) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Golitzen?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.