{{Short description|Danish art director (1914–2001)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}} {{Infobox person |image = |imagesize = | name = Tambi Larsen | birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1914|9|11}} | birth_place = [[Bangalore]], [[British India]] | death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2001|3|24|1914|9|11}} | death_place = [[Hollywood, California]], [[United States]] | othername = | occupation = [[Art director#In film|Art director]] | yearsactive = 1954–1980 }} '''Tambi Larsen''' (11 September 1914 – 24 March 2001) was a [[Denmark|Danish]] art director born in [[Bangalore]], [[India]]. He emigrated to the [[United States]] at the age of 20, where he attended [[Yale Drama School]]. He married Barbara Dole (daughter of [[James Dole]]) in 1941 and became an American citizen in 1943. Tambi (pronounced "Tom' bee") struggled to make a living as a set designer for Broadway shows. During [[World War II]], Larsen worked for the [[Office of War Information]], first broadcasting the news in Danish, and after V-E Day, designing exhibits in Denmark as Assistant Cultural Relations Officer.
After the war, the family—which now included son Peter and daughter Pamela—moved to [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]], where Larsen tried his hand in the movie industry. He was immediately hired by [[Paramount Pictures]] as an [[Art director#In film|Assistant Art Director]]. His first official job was on 1953's ''The Secret of the Incas''. Two years after that debut, he won an [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] for ''[[The Rose Tattoo (film)|The Rose Tattoo]]''. He was also nominated for ''[[Hud (1963 film)|Hud]]'', ''[[The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (film)|The Spy Who Came in from the Cold]]'', ''[[The Molly Maguires]]'', and ''[[Heaven's Gate (film)|Heaven's Gate]]'',<ref name="IMDb.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0488910/awards |title=IMDb.com: Tambi Larsen - Awards |access-date=2008-12-21|work=IMDb.com}}</ref> and he won the British [[BAFTA]] award for ''The Spy Who Came In From The Cold''. He designed at least 41 movies during his career.
During a time-out from Hollywood while he designed a movie about [[Father Damien]], Larsen began visiting [[Hawaii]]. He and his wife bought a home in [[Kauai]], in 1961. Over the years, he explored the island, taking snapshots which he then drew with coloured pencils. He called his exhibits "100 Entertainments." The Kauai Historical Society is preparing to publish a book of his 100 drawings.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|0488910}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110222045036/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/98788/Tambi-Larsen Tambi Larsen at New York Times]
{{Navboxes |title = Awards for Tambi Larsen |list = {{AcademyAwardBestArtDirection 1941–1960}} {{BAFTA Award for Best Production Design}} }}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Larsen, Tambi}} [[Category:1914 births]] [[Category:2001 deaths]] [[Category:Best Production Design Academy Award winners]] [[Category:Best Production Design BAFTA Award winners]] [[Category:Danish art directors]] [[Category:Artists from Bengaluru]] [[Category:David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University alumni]] [[Category:Danish emigrants to the United States]] [[Category:People of the United States Office of War Information]] [[Category:Danish expatriates in India]]