Three production designers – Robert Clatworthy, Harper Goff and J. Michael Riva – will be inducted into the Art Directors Guild (ADG) Hall of Fame at the guild’s 18th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards ceremony to be held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel Feb. 8.
“Clatworthy, Goff and Riva join a distinguished group of ADG Hall of Famers, whose collective work parallels the best of motion picture and television production design,” ADG Council Chairman John Shaffner said. “They are most worthy and welcomed additions.
Nominations for the awards will be announced Jan. 9. On awards night, Feb. 8, the ADG will present winners in 10 competitive categories for theatrical films, television productions, commercials and music videos. Recipient of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award will be production designer and art director Rick Carter, as previously announced. The Excellence in Production Design Awards are open to productions made within the U.S. only by producers signatory to the IATSE agreement. Foreign entries are acceptable without restrictions.
Clatworthy was an Oscar-winning American production designer who worked at Paramount starting in 1938, and at Universal until 1964. In the 1960s, Clatworthy became involved with some of Hollywoods best directors, including Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kramer. He also had ties with the Disney organization with films such as Pollyanna (1960), The Parent Trap (1961) and the TV series, Walt Disneys Wonderful World of Color (1963-1974). He was the art director for Welles Touch of Evil, was nominated for his first Academy Award in 1961 for Hitchcocks Psycho (1960), and again in 1963 for That Touch of Mink (1962), starring Cary Grant and Doris Day.
Goff was an American production designer, art illustrator, artist, musician and actor. He became a set decorator for Warner Brothers for Academy Award-winning films such as A Midsummer Nights Dream (1935), Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), Sergeant York (1941) and Casablanca (1942). During WWII, he was approached by the U.S. Army seeking advice on camouflage paint. He later worked for the U.S. Navy designing confusing ship silhouettes. Goff joined the artistic team at Walt Disney Studios in Los Angeles, where he was the art director for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) and is credited with designing the exterior of the Nautilus, along with every set/compartment within the submarine, as well as many of the inventive effects in Disneys first live-action picture. The film went on to win Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Color) and Best Effects, Special Effects. Years later Goff created the submarine Proteus for the Oscar-winning film Fantastic Voyage (1966) and art directedWilly Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971). He was one of Walt Disneys first Imagineers and influenced and contributed heavily to the concept art for what is now Disneyland, including Main Street U.S.A. and the Jungle Cruise, as well as working on EPCOT Center, the World Showcase, and several other Walt Disney World theme parks around the world.
Riva was an Emmy-winning American production designer, writer and grandson of German-American actress/singer, Marlene Dietrich. After Riva worked as the production designer for Robert Redfords Brubaker (1980), Redford subsequently hired Riva as the art director for the Oscar-winning film, Ordinary People (1980). Rivas other production design credits include The Goonies (1985), the Lethal Weapon franchise (films 1, 2 and 4), A Few Good Men (1992), the Centennial Olympic Games: Torch Relay Opening Ceremonies TV special (1996), Tuesdays with Morrie (1999), the Charlies Angels films, The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), Spider-Man 3 (2007), Iron Man (2008), Seven Pounds (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), and posthumously released, The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and Django Unchained (2012).
Previous ADG Hall of Fame inductees, which are given only posthumously, are Preston Ames, Robert F. Boyle, William S. Darling, Alfred Junge, Alexander Golitzen, Albert Heschong, Eugène Lourié, John Box, Hilyard Brown, Malcolm F. Brown, Wilfred Buckland, Henry Bumstead, Edward Carfagno, Carroll Clark, Richard Day, John DeCuir Sr., Hans Dreier, Bob Keene, Cedric Gibbons, Stephen Goosson, Anton Grot, Stephen Grimes, Ted Haworth, Dale Hennesy, Harry Horner, Richard MacDonald, Joseph McMillan Mac Johnson, Romain Johnston, Boris Leven, John Meehan, William Cameron Menzies, Harold Michelson, Van Nest Polglase, Ferdinando Scarfiotti, Jan Scott, Edward S. Stephenson, Alexandre Trauner, James Trittipo and Lyle Wheeler.
