Lyle R. Wheeler
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Lyle Reynolds Wheeler (February 2, 1905 – January 10, 1990) was an American motion picture art director. He received five Academy Awards — for Gone with the Wind (1939), Anna and the King of Siam (1946), The Robe (1953), The King and I (1956) and The Diary of Anne Frank (1959). Lyle Wheeler studied at the University of Southern California, then worked as a magazine artist and industrial designer. In 1936 he was hired by David O. Selznick to work as a set designer for Selznick's motion picture production company. Wheeler proved to be a creative genius when it came to designing quality sets at reasonable costs and was very much in demand in the industry. By the end of World War II, Wheeler had joined Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation, where he remained as chief art director until the end of the 1950s. In a career spanning 40 years, Wheeler created sets for more than 350 motion pictures, many of which are considered film classics. His credits include A Star is Born, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, State Fair, The Dolly Sisters, Forever Amber, The Fan, The Pride of St. Louis, The Seven Year Itch, and Carousel and in particular, Gone With the Wind, for which he drew some of the earliest examples of storyboards for film, illustrating not only the art design, but the framing, composition and even the color for nearly every shot in the film, greatly influencing the production. He also created matte paintings for all the ceilings for the sets as well as large set pieces like the facade of Tara. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction 29 times, winning five. In 1951, he was nominated for four different films, three in 1952 and twice for two films in one year. His television credits include the long-running CBS series, Perry Mason. Late in life, Wheeler suffered financial reverses and was forced to sell his home. He lost his five Academy Award statuettes when he was unable to pay a bill in excess of $30,000 at a storage facility. His 1959 Oscar for The Diary of Anne Frank was purchased and returned to Wheeler in 1989 by a fan. Lyle Wheeler died January 10, 1990, at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital, of pneumonia. He was cremated, and his ashes stored in the vault at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles.
Filmography (53)
In Harm's Way
Let's Make Love
The Diary of Anne Frank
Return of the Fly
Warlock
Journey to the Center of the Earth
The Fly
The Young Lions
The Long, Hot Summer
The Enemy Below
The Three Faces of Eve
An Affair to Remember
Desk Set
The Girl Can't Help It
The King and I
Love Me Tender
The Last Wagon
The Seven Year Itch
The Virgin Queen
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing
Black Widow
There's No Business Like Show Business
River of No Return
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Pickup on South Street
How to Marry a Millionaire
Niagara
The Robe
Titanic
Viva Zapata!
The Day the Earth Stood Still
David and Bathsheba
Fourteen Hours
All About Eve
Cheaper by the Dozen
Broken Arrow
No Way Out
House of Strangers
Twelve O'Clock High
Unfaithfully Yours
Cry of the City
Gentleman's Agreement
Nightmare Alley
My Darling Clementine
Dragonwyck
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Fallen Angel
Laura
Rebecca
Gone with the Wind
Intermezzo: A Love Story
Nothing Sacred
