# William A. Horning

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American art director

William A. Horning Born (1904-11-09)November 9, 1904 Missouri Died March 2, 1959(1959-03-02) (aged 54) Los Angeles, California Occupation Art director Employer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1931–1959)[1]

**William Allen Horning** (November 9, 1904 – March 2, 1959) was an American art director and two-time [Academy Award](/source/Academy_Awards) winner.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## Career

He joined [Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer](/source/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) in 1931 as a draftsman and became an assistant to the studio's supervising art director [Cedric Gibbons](/source/Cedric_Gibbons) in 1936.[1]

Together with Gibbons, he received his first [Academy Award](/source/Academy_Award) nomination in 1937 for [Best Art Direction](/source/Academy_Award_for_Best_Production_Design) for *[Conquest](/source/Conquest_(1937_film))*. Two years later, he received another nomination for *[The Wizard of Oz](/source/The_Wizard_of_Oz)*. He waited 12 years for his next nomination for *[Quo Vadis](/source/Quo_Vadis_(1951_film))*.

Following Gibbons' retirement in 1956, he became the studio's supervising art director. His first Academy Award nominations without Gibbons was for *[Les Girls](/source/Les_Girls)* and *[Raintree Country](/source/Raintree_County_(film))* in 1957.

The week before he died, Horning received another nomination for [Best Art Direction](/source/Academy_Award_for_Best_Production_Design) for *[Gigi](/source/Gigi_(1958_film))* and at the [31st Academy Awards](/source/31st_Academy_Awards) ceremony in April, he received a [posthumous Academy Award](/source/List_of_posthumous_Academy_Award_winners_and_nominees).

The following year, he received two additional [posthumous](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/posthumous) Oscar nominations (bringing his nominations total to eight), one for [Alfred Hitchcock](/source/Alfred_Hitchcock)'s *[North by Northwest](/source/North_by_Northwest)* and another for the [1959](/source/1959_in_film) [epic film](/source/Epic_film) *[Ben-Hur](/source/Ben-Hur_(1959_film))*. At the [32nd Academy Awards](/source/32nd_Academy_Awards) ceremony, Horning won the [Academy Award for Best Art Direction](/source/Academy_Award_for_Best_Production_Design) for *[Ben-Hur](/source/Ben-Hur_(1959_film))*, that year's [Best Picture](/source/Academy_Award_for_Best_Picture) winner. Like producer [Sam Zimbalist](/source/Sam_Zimbalist), Horning was awarded his second Oscar posthumously, as both he and Zimbalist had died while the movie was still being filmed. To date, Horning is the only person ever to win posthumous Academy Awards in consecutive ceremonies.

## Personal life

He was married to Esther Montgomery until his death. Together they had three sons.[1]

## See also

- [List of posthumous Academy Award winners and nominees](/source/List_of_posthumous_Academy_Award_winners_and_nominees)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Obituary_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Obituary_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Obituary_1-2) ["Obituaries"](http://www.archive.org/stream/variety214-1959-03#page/n149/mode/1up). [Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine)). March 11, 1959. p. 86. Retrieved June 23, 2019 – via [Archive.org](/source/Archive.org).

## External links

- [William A. Horning](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0395178/) 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)

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