Lyle R. Wheeler
Art
🎂 1905-02-12
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.
Cast credits(1)
Art (291)
Art Direction
1959
Art Direction
1939
Production Design
1975
Set Decoration
1975
Art Direction
1951
Art Direction
1959
Art Direction
1950
Art Direction
1953
Art Direction
1940
Art Direction
1953
Art Direction
1953
Art Direction
1956
Art Direction
1950
Art Direction
1952
Art Direction
1959
Production Design
1965
Art Direction
1954
Art Direction
1958
Art Direction
1944
Art Direction
1958
Art Direction
1953
Art Direction
1950
Art Direction
1956
Art Designer
1937
Art Direction
1955
Art Direction
1953
Art Direction
1946
Art Direction
1947
Art Direction
1953
Art Direction
1954
Art Direction
1945
Art Direction
1959
Art Direction
1957
Art Direction
1939
Art Direction
1958
Art Direction
1947
Art Direction
1958
Art Direction
1937
Art Direction
1956
Art Direction
1952
Art Direction
1949
Art Direction
1953
Art Direction
1948
Art Direction
1947
Art Direction
1954
Art Direction
1950
Art Direction
1946
Art Direction
1951
Art Direction
1953
Art Direction
1958
Art Direction
1952
Art Direction
1954
Art Direction
1958
Art Direction
1954
Production Design
1969
Art Direction
1953
Production Design
1963
Art Direction
1949
Art Direction
1957
Art Direction
1951
Art Direction
1953
Art Direction
1955
Art Direction
1950
Art Direction
1959
Art Direction
1952
Art Direction
1956
Art Direction
1949
Art Direction
1960
Art Direction
1947
Art Direction
1955
Art Direction
1938
Art Direction
1956
Art Direction
1950
Art Direction
1954
Art Direction
1956
Art Direction
1949
Art Direction
1950
Art Direction
1956
Art Direction
1950
Art Direction
1948
Art Direction
1955
Art Direction
1957
Art Direction
1948
Art Direction
1945
Art Direction
1960
Art Direction
1952
Art Direction
1957
Art Direction
1955
Art Direction
1954
Art Direction
1957
Art Direction
1955
Art Direction
1959
Art Direction
1952
Art Direction
1959
Art Direction
1957
Art Direction
1951
Art Direction
1943
Art Direction
1941
Art Direction
1957
Art Direction
1955
Art Direction
1949
Art Direction
1955
Art Direction
1950
Art Direction
1951
Art Direction
1948
Art Direction
1946
Art Direction
1945
Production Design
1964
Art Direction
1945
Art Direction
1945
Art Direction
1949
Art Direction
1951
Art Direction
1957
Art Direction
1951
Art Direction
1951
Art Direction
1949
Art Direction
1952
Art Direction
1959
Art Direction
1950
Art Direction
1949
Art Direction
1950
Art Direction
1948
Art Direction
1946
Art Direction
1956
Art Direction
1951
Art Direction
1954
Art Direction
1950
Art Direction
1955
Art Direction
1952
Art Direction
1951
Art Direction
1960
Art Direction
1957
Art Direction
1955
Art Direction
1960
Art Direction
1951
Art Direction
1958
Art Direction
1949
Art Direction
1952
Art Direction
1948
Art Direction
1951
Art Direction
1946
Art Direction
1953
Art Direction
1951
Art Direction
1955
Production Design
1968
Art Direction
1956
Art Direction
1945
Art Direction
1944
Art Direction
1953
Art Direction
1955
Art Direction
1946
Art Direction
1957
Art Direction
1960
Art Direction
1958
Art Direction
1952
Art Direction
1945
Art Direction
1951
Art Direction
1944
Art Direction
1948
Art Direction
1950
Art Direction
1950
Art Direction
1950
Art Direction
1959
Art Direction
1949
Production Design
1962
Art Direction
1959
Art Direction
1948
Art Direction
1956
Art Direction
1939
Art Direction
1953
Art Direction
1956
Art Direction
1937
Art Direction
1955
Set Decoration
1936
Art Direction
1948
Production Design
1967
Production Design
1971
Art Direction
1956
Art Direction
1953
Art Direction
1945
Art Direction
1955
Art Direction
1950
Art Direction
1945
Art Direction
1951
Art Direction
1959
Art Direction
1948
Art Direction
1953
Art Direction
1950
Art Direction
1944
Art Direction
1949
Art Direction
1938
Art Direction
1946
Art Direction
1947
Art Direction
1953
Art Direction
1960
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1959
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1958
Art Direction
1958
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1953
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1952
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1952
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1954
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1945
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1952
Art Direction
1949
Art Direction
1946
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1950
Art Direction
1954
Art Direction
1951
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1953
Art Direction
1953
Art Direction
1955
Art Direction
1945
Art Direction
1953
Art Direction
1953
Art Direction
1948
Art Direction
1951
Production Design
1972
Art Direction
1958
Art Direction
1954
Art Direction
1949
Art Direction
1950
Production Design
1978
Art Direction
1946
Art Direction
1959
Art Direction
1951
Art Direction
1949
Production Design
1971
Art Direction
1957
Art Direction
1948
Art Direction
1954
Art Direction
1956
Art Direction
1945
Art Direction
1953
Art Direction
1948
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1949
Art Direction
1945
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1949
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1945
Art Direction
1951
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1953
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1956
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1951
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1951
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1951
Art Direction
1948
Art Direction
1945
Art Direction
1956
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1951
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1950
Art Direction
1958
Art Direction
1944
Art Direction
1953
Art Direction
1948
Art Direction
1956
Art Direction
1953
Art Direction
1945
Art Direction
1947
Art Direction
1950
Production Design
1970
Art Direction
1948
Art Direction
1949
Art Direction
1959
Art Direction
1945
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1959
Art Direction
1950
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1952
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1944
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1951
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1952
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1956
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1951
Art Direction
1945
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1952
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1949
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1952
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1952
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1956
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1958
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1951
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1956
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1948
Art Direction
1945
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1952
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1952
Art Direction
1977
Art Direction
1952
Art Direction
1960
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1950
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1945
Art Direction
1948