Boris Leven

{{Short description|Russian art director}} {{Infobox person | name = Boris Leven | birth_date = {{Birth date|1908|08|13|df=yes}} | birth_place = Moscow, Russian Empire | death_date = {{Death date and age|1986|10|11|1908|08|13|df=yes}} | death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S. | occupation = Art director, production designer | years_active =1938−1986 }} [[File:Boris Leven on West Side Story set.jpg|thumb|275px|Boris Leven was the production designer of ''[[West Side Story (1961 film)|West Side Story]]'' (1961). He and [[Victor A. Gangelin]] won the [[Academy Award for Best Production Design|Academy Award for Best Art Direction – Set Decoration (Color)]] for the film.]] '''Boris Leven''' (in early film credits – ''Boris Levin''; August 13, 1908 – October 11, 1986) was a [[Russia]]n-born [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]]-winning [[Art director#In film|art director]] and [[production designer]] whose Hollywood career spanned fifty-three years.

Born in [[Moscow]] in the family of Israel and Zinaida (Narkirier) Leven,<ref>[http://www.filmreference.com/film/77/Boris-Leven.html Boris Leven Biography]</ref> Leven emigrated to the [[United States]] in 1927 and became a [[Naturalization|naturalized citizen]] in 1938. After receiving a [[Bachelor of Arts]] in [[architecture]] from the [[University of Southern California]], he attended the [[Beaux-Arts Institute of Design]] in [[New York City]].<ref>[http://www.filmreference.com/Writers-and-Production-Artists-Kr-Lo/Leven-Boris.html FilmReference.com]</ref>

[[Image:GiantSet.jpg|left|thumb|A film crew at work on the set of ''[[Giant (1956 film)|Giant]]'' (1956). The Victorian home Leven designed became an iconic image for the film.]] Leven began his film career as a sketch artist at [[Paramount Pictures]] in 1933 and joined [[20th Century Fox]] three years later. His first screen credit was as the art director for ''[[Alexander's Ragtime Band (film)|Alexander's Ragtime Band]]'' (1938), for which he received the first of nine Oscar nominations.

The designs Leven created ranged from realistic to highly stylised. For ''[[Giant (1956 film)|Giant]]'' (1956), he constructed the Victorian home that sits isolated in a wide expanse of open field, which became an iconic image for the film. His work for ''[[West Side Story (1961 film)|West Side Story]]'' (1961), which won him the [[Academy Award for Best Production Design|Academy Award for Best Color Art Direction]], included actual New York City locations combined with a [[tenement]] rooftop and [[fire escape]], inspired by the more abstract stage production, that were built on a [[soundstage]]. For ''[[New York, New York (1977 film)|New York, New York]]'' (1977), he created a [[fantasy|fantasized]] version of [[Manhattan]] set in the 1940s.

As an art director, Leven contributed to ''[[The Flying Deuces]]'' (1939), ''[[Hello Frisco, Hello]]'' (1943), ''[[Invaders from Mars (1953 film)|Invaders from Mars]]'' (1953), ''[[The Silver Chalice (film)|The Silver Chalice]]'' (1954), and ''[[Jonathan Livingston Seagull (film)|Jonathan Livingston Seagull]]'' (1973), among others. His credits as production designer include ''[[Donovan's Brain]]'' (1953), ''[[Anatomy of a Murder]]'' (1959), ''[[Two for the Seesaw (1962 film)|Two for the Seesaw]]'' (1962), ''[[The Sound of Music (film)|The Sound of Music]]'' (1965), ''[[The Sand Pebbles (film)|The Sand Pebbles]]'' (1966), ''[[Star! (film)|Star!]]'' (1968), ''[[The Andromeda Strain (film)|The Andromeda Strain]]'' (1971), ''[[Mandingo (film)|Mandingo]]'' (1975), ''[[The Last Waltz]]'' (1978), ''[[The King of Comedy (film)|The King of Comedy]]'' (1982), ''[[Fletch (film)|Fletch]]'' (1985) and ''[[The Color of Money]]'' (1986).<ref name="Oscars1987">{{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1987 |title=The 59th Academy Awards (1987) Nominees and Winners |access-date=2011-07-31|work=oscars.org}}</ref>

Leven married Vera Glooshkoff on February 8, 1946. He died in [[Los Angeles, California]]. Vera Leven died at the age of 101 in June 2011. Prior to her death, she had donated several of Boris Leven's paintings and film drawings to the University of Southern California and New York City's [[Museum of Modern Art]].

==See also== * [[Art Directors Guild Hall of Fame]]

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{IMDb name|505227}} * [http://catalog.oscars.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=71204 ABoris Leven production design drawings, 1933-1940], Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leven, Boris}} [[Category:1908 births]] [[Category:1986 deaths]] [[Category:20th Century Studios people]] [[Category:American art directors]] [[Category:American production designers]] [[Category:Best Production Design Academy Award winners]] [[Category:USC School of Architecture alumni]] [[Category:Russian Jews]] [[Category:Soviet emigrants to the United States]] [[Category:20th-century American designers]]