Oscar-winning production designer Gene Allen will be inducted into the Art Directors Guild Hall of Fame, the guild has announced. The induction ceremony will take place at the 21st Annual Art Directors Guild Excellence in Production Design Awards, held Saturday, February 11 at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood and Highland in Los Angeles.
Allen served three terms as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, from 1983 to 1985, served as Executive Director for the Art Directors Guild for 27 years, from 1970 to 1997, and served four two-year terms as IATSE Vice President. His career stretched back to 1936 as a “blueprint boy” at Warner Bros., over which he earned numerous acolades, among them and Academy Award for his work on A Star Is Born. Other production credits include At Long Last Love, The Cheyenne Social Club and The Chapman Report, with Art Director credits including Let’s Make Love, A Breath of Scandal, Heller in Pink Tights, Merry Andrew, Back from Eternity, Bhowani Junction and Les Girls. He died in 2015 at age 97.
“We celebrate Gene as a legendary and iconic Production Designer. Gene made an enormous contribution to the art of production design and art direction through his love of color, form and dramatic design,” said ADG Council Chairperson Marcia Hinds. “He was a visionary, a leader in the industry, an advocate of the profession and an inspiration to us all.”
