# Harold Michelson

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American artist

Harold Michelson Born (1920-02-15)February 15, 1920 New York City, New York, U.S. Died March 1, 2007(2007-03-01) (aged 87) Woodland Hills, California, U.S. Occupations Production designer, art director, illustrator Spouse Lillian Farber ​ (m. 1947)​ Children 3

**Harold Michelson** (February 15, 1920 – March 1, 2007) was an American [production designer](/source/Production_designer) and [art director](/source/Art_director). In addition, he worked as an [illustrator](/source/Illustrator) and/or [storyboard artist](/source/Storyboard_artist) on numerous films from the 1940s through the 1990s.

## Biography

A native of New York City, Michelson worked with the [Bureau of Engraving and Printing](/source/Bureau_of_Engraving_and_Printing) in Washington, D.C. after graduating from high school. He then served as a [bombardier](/source/Bombardier_(air_force))-navigator in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II, flying more than 40 missions over Germany.

After the war, Michelson became an illustrator. He worked on [magazines](/source/Magazines) while attending the [Art Students League of New York](/source/Art_Students_League_of_New_York) before moving on to Chicago and Los Angeles, where he illustrated movie posters. He ultimately became an illustrator for [Columbia Pictures](/source/Columbia_Pictures) before being traded to [Paramount Pictures](/source/Paramount_Pictures), where he worked as illustrator and storyboard artist on *[The Ten Commandments](/source/The_Ten_Commandments_(1956_film))*. He then worked as a storyboard artist on *[Ben-Hur](/source/Ben-Hur_(1959_film))* for [MGM](/source/MGM) and *[Spartacus](/source/Spartacus_(film))* for [Universal Pictures](/source/Universal_Pictures).

Throughout the remainder of the 1960s, he worked as either illustrator or storyboard artist on films such as *[West Side Story](/source/West_Side_Story_(1961_film))*, *[The Birds](/source/The_Birds_(film))*, *[Cleopatra](/source/Cleopatra_(1963_film))*, *[Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?](/source/Who's_Afraid_of_Virginia_Woolf%3F_(film))* and *[The Graduate](/source/The_Graduate)*. During the 1970s, he was an illustrator for films like *[Fiddler on the Roof](/source/Fiddler_on_the_Roof_(film))* and *[Cross of Iron](/source/Cross_of_Iron)*; in the 1980s, he worked on *[Firestarter](/source/Firestarter_(1984_film))* and *[The Cotton Club](/source/The_Cotton_Club_(film))*, and he was a visual consultant on the 1986 remake of *[The Fly](/source/The_Fly_(1986_film))*.

His career as an art director started in television, beginning with *[Matinee Theatre](/source/Matinee_Theatre)* and moving to programs such as *[Gomer Pyle, USMC](/source/Gomer_Pyle%2C_USMC)* and *[The Andy Griffith Show](/source/The_Andy_Griffith_Show)*. He served as art director on several films and began working as production designer with the 1971 [Cannes Film Festival](/source/Cannes_Film_Festival) Jury Grand Prize-winning film *[Johnny Got His Gun](/source/Johnny_Got_His_Gun)*, and he continued to work as an illustrator and storyboard artist.

Michelson worked on two films for [Mel Brooks](/source/Mel_Brooks), first as production designer on *[History of the World, Part I](/source/History_of_the_World%2C_Part_I)* and later as art director for *[Spaceballs](/source/Spaceballs)*. Michelson's other art direction credits include the films *[Mommie Dearest](/source/Mommie_Dearest_(film))*, *[Planes, Trains & Automobiles](/source/Planes%2C_Trains_%26_Automobiles)* and *[Dick Tracy](/source/Dick_Tracy_(1990_film))*. He also served as a consultant for producer [Danny DeVito](/source/Danny_DeVito) on films such as *[Hoffa](/source/Hoffa_(film))* and *[Death to Smoochy](/source/Death_to_Smoochy)*.

## Death and legacy

Michelson died at the [Motion Picture & Television Fund](/source/Motion_Picture_%26_Television_Fund) retirement home, following a long illness, at the age of 87.[1]

The documentary film *Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story* describes the life and career of Michelson and his wife [Lillian](/source/Lillian_Michelson), who became a respected film researcher.[2]

## Awards and honors

Michelson shared his first Academy Award nomination for his production designs on *[Star Trek: The Motion Picture](/source/Star_Trek%3A_The_Motion_Picture)*, contributing to the interior and exterior design on the newly refit [USS *Enterprise*](/source/USS_Enterprise_(NCC-1701)). He shared a second nomination for his art direction on the 1983 film *[Terms of Endearment](/source/Terms_of_Endearment)*.[3]

In 1999 Michelson was honored with the [Art Directors Guild](/source/Art_Directors_Guild)'s Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2002, he received the Outstanding Achievement in Production Design award from the [Hollywood Film Festival](/source/Hollywood_Film_Festival).[4]

He was inducted into the [Art Directors Guild Hall of Fame](/source/Art_Directors_Guild_Hall_of_Fame) in 2009.[5]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Harold Michelson, 87; film production designer, art director"](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-mar-08-me-passings8.1-story.html). *Los Angeles Times*. March 8, 2007.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Castillo, Monica (April 27, 2017). ["Review: 'Harold and Lillian' Introduces a Hollywood Power Couple"](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/27/movies/harold-and-lillian-review.html). *The New York Times*. p. C11.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Production designer Michelson dies"](https://variety.com/2007/film/markets-festivals/production-designer-michelson-dies-1117960540/). *[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine))*. March 5, 2007. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0042-2738](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0042-2738).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Giardina, Carolyn (March 6, 2007). ["Production designer Harold Michelson dies"](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/production-designer-harold-michelson-dies-131358). *The Hollywood Reporter*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0018-3660](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0018-3660).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Hall of Fame: Harold Michelson"](https://www.adg.org/?name=HALL-OF-FAME&art=hall_of_fame&VIEW=29248). *Art Directors Guild*. Retrieved May 15, 2017.

## External links

- [Harold Michelson](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0585118/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier))

- [*Harold and Lillian:A Hollywood Love Story (2015)*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4683668/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier))

- [Harold Michelson](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Harold_Michelson) at [Memory Alpha](/source/Memory_Alpha)

v t e Art Directors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award 1996—2014 Robert F. Boyle Henry Bumstead Harold Michelson Jan Scott Albert Brenner Sir Ken Adam William J. Creber John B. Mansbridge Dean Tavoularis Stuart Craig Paul Sylbert Terence Marsh Patricia Norris Tony Walton Herman Zimmerman Camille Abbott Jim Bissell John P. Bruce Rick Carter Will Ferrell 2015—2020 Bill Anderson Harrison Ellenshaw Patrizia Von Brandenstein Cate Bangs Albert Obregon Joseph Musso Rene Lagler William J. Newmon II James J. Murakami John Moffitt Marty Kline Norm Newberry Joe Alves Denis Olsen Stephen Berger Jack Johnson John Eaves Patrick DeGreve Martha Johnson Stuart Wurtzel

v t e Art Directors Guild Hall of Fame (2000s) 2005 Wilfred Buckland Richard Day John DeCuir Anton Grot Boris Leven William Cameron Menzies Van Nest Polglase 2006 John Box Hans Dreier Cedric Gibbons Jan Scott Alexandre Trauner 2007 Hilyard M. Brown Henry Bumstead Carroll Clark Stephen Goosson Harry Horner 2008 Edward Carfagno Stephen B. Grimes Dale Hennesy James Trittipo Lyle R. Wheeler 2009 Ted Haworth Joseph McMillan "Mac" Johnson Romain Johnston John Meehan Harold Michelson Complete list 2000s 2010s 2020s

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND WorldCat National United States Italy People Deutsche Biographie

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