John DeCuir

{{short description|American art director}} {{Infobox person | name = John DeCuir | birth_date = June 4, 1918 | birth_place = [[San Francisco, California]] | death_date = {{death date and age|1991|10|29|1918|6|4}} | death_place = [[Santa Monica, California]] | occupation = Art director | spouse = | children =John DeCuir Jr. | years_active = 1942–1984 }}

'''John DeCuir''' (June 4, 1918 – October 29, 1991) was a [[Hollywood (film industry)|Hollywood]] [[Art director#In film|art director]] and [[production designer]] known for his elaborate set designs that were illustrated with his own watercolor paintings.<ref>http://www.adg.org/?content=cm&section=14 www.adg.org</ref>

DeCuir studied at the [[Chouinard Art Institute|Chouinard Art School]], joined [[Universal Pictures|Universal]] in the late 1930s, and by the mid-1940s was designing sets. In 1949, he signed with [[20th Century Fox]] where he worked on productions with elaborate sets. These included dramatic material such as ''[[The House on Telegraph Hill]]'' (1951), [[Musical theatre|musicals]] including ''[[There's No Business Like Show Business (film)|There's No Business Like Show Business]]'' 1954), and comedy ''[[Ghostbusters]]'' (1984). DeCuir earned eleven [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] nominations, winning three: ''[[The King and I (1956 film)|The King and I]]'' (1956), ''[[Cleopatra (1963 film)|Cleopatra]]'' (1963), and ''[[Hello, Dolly! (film)|Hello, Dolly!]]'' (1969). DeCuir designed the short-lived exhibit devoted to horror film at Movieland Wax Museum in Buena Park, CA called The Black Box.

His son, John DeCuir Jr. is also a [[production designer]].

==Partial filmography== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * ''[[The Naked City]]'' (1948) * ''[[The House on Telegraph Hill]]'' (1951) * ''[[My Cousin Rachel (1952 film)|My Cousin Rachel]]'' (1952) * ''[[The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952 film)|The Snows of Kilimanjaro]]'' (1952) * ''[[Diplomatic Courier]]'' (1952) * ''[[Call Me Madam (film)|Call Me Madam]]'' (1953) * ''[[There's No Business like Show Business]]'' (1954) * ''[[Three Coins in the Fountain (1954 film)|Three Coins in the Fountain]]'' (1954) * ''[[Daddy Long Legs (1955 film)|Daddy Long Legs]]'' (1955) * ''[[The King and I (1956 film)|The King and I]]'' (1956) * ''[[South Pacific (1958 film)|South Pacific]]'' (1958) * ''[[A Certain Smile]]'' (1958) * ''[[The Big Fisherman]]'' (1959) * ''[[Seven Thieves]]'' (1960) * ''[[Cleopatra (1963 film)|Cleopatra]]'' (1963) * ''[[Circus World (film)|Circus World]]'' (1964) * ''[[The Agony and the Ecstasy (film)|The Agony and the Ecstasy]]'' (1965) * ''[[The Honey Pot]]'' (1967) * ''[[The Taming of the Shrew]]'' (1967) * ''[[Hello, Dolly! (film)|Hello, Dolly]]'' (1969) * ''[[The Great White Hope]]'' (1970) * ''[[On a Clear Day You Can See Forever]]'' (1970) * ''[[The Other Side of Midnight (film)|The Other Side of Midnight]]'' (1977) * ''[[Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid]]'' (1982) * ''[[Ghostbusters]]'' (1984) {{div col end}}

== References == {{reflist}}

==External links== *{{IMDb name|id=0214043}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20111004004019/http://www.cinematix.us/decuirbio.htm John DeCuir Senior webpage] (archived) *[https://web.archive.org/web/20120424125033/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/46021%7C85501/John-De-Cuir/ Turner Classic Movies]

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

{{DEFAULTSORT:DeCuir, John}} [[Category:1918 births]] [[Category:1991 deaths]] [[Category:American art directors]] [[Category:Chouinard Art Institute alumni]] [[Category:Best Production Design Academy Award winners]] [[Category:20th Century Studios people]] [[Category:American production designers]] [[Category:People from San Francisco]] [[Category:American people of Mexican descent]] [[Category:People from Montebello, California]] [[Category:Primetime Emmy Award winners]] [[Category:20th-century American people]]