E. Preston Ames
Encyclopedia
E. Preston Ames was a famous Hollywood art director.
Ames first made inroads into Hollywood when he was a draftsman
working on The Wizard of Oz
in 1939. Within five years he had become a fully fledged art director.
In a career spanning nearly 40 years, Ames won 2 Oscars (for An American in Paris
in 1951 and Gigi
in 1958) and was nominated an additional six times.
Among the highlights of his career were creating the mystical town of Brigadoon
in 1954, recreating the Titanic in The Unsinkable Molly Brown in 1964, mocking up an airport
for the film of the same name in 1970 and reducing Los Angeles
to rubble in Earthquake
in 1974.
Ames first made inroads into Hollywood when he was a draftsman
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
working on The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
in 1939. Within five years he had become a fully fledged art director.
In a career spanning nearly 40 years, Ames won 2 Oscars (for An American in Paris
An American in Paris (film)
An American in Paris is a 1951 MGM musical film inspired by the 1928 orchestral composition by George Gershwin. Starring Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, Georges Guetary, and Nina Foch, the film is set in Paris, and was directed by Vincente Minnelli from a script by Alan Jay Lerner...
in 1951 and Gigi
Gigi (1958 film)
Gigi is a 1958 musical film directed by Vincente Minnelli. The screenplay by Alan Jay Lerner is based on the 1944 novella of the same name by Colette...
in 1958) and was nominated an additional six times.
Among the highlights of his career were creating the mystical town of Brigadoon
Brigadoon (film)
Brigadoon is a 1954 MGM musical feature film made in CinemaScope and Ansco Color based on the Broadway musical of the same name by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. The film was directed by Vincente Minnelli and stars Gene Kelly, Van Johnson, and Cyd Charisse...
in 1954, recreating the Titanic in The Unsinkable Molly Brown in 1964, mocking up an airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
for the film of the same name in 1970 and reducing Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to rubble in Earthquake
Earthquake (film)
Earthquake is a 1974 American disaster film that achieved huge box-office success, continuing the disaster film genre of the 1970s where recognizable all-star casts attempt to survive life or death situations...
in 1974.