- Nathan H. Juran
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Naftuli "Nathan" Hertz Juran (September 1, 1907 - October 23, 2002) was an American film art director and film director who is most noted for winning the Academy Award for Best Art Direction for How Green Was My Valley and for directing science fiction and fantasy films such as Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. He was also the brother of quality guru Joseph M. Juran.
Contents
Life and career
Juran was born to a Jewish family in Gura Humorului, Romania[1]. In 1912, he immigrated to America with his family, settling in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He earned a bachelor's degree in Architecture from the University of Minnesota. He also spent a summer studying at the École des Beaux-Arts before earning a master's degree in Architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. With the construction industry at a standstill due to the Great Depression, Juran moved to Los Angeles, where he landed a job as a draftsman in the art department at RKO Radio Pictures. He later moved to 20th Century Fox, where he became art director on How Green Was My Valley.
Juran enlisted in the Navy during the Second World War and was assigned to first the Office of Strategic Services and then to the Royal Air Force Intelligence Center.[2]
He began his career as an art director, winning an Oscar for his work on How Green Was My Valley (1941), and a nomination for The Razor's Edge (1946). His other credits in the field included Charley's Aunt (1941), Winchester '73 (1950), and Harvey (1950).
As a director, his best-known efforts were in the science fiction and fantasy genres, often with producer Charles H. Schneer, among which were Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, 20 Million Miles To Earth, The Brain from Planet Arous, Jack the Giant Killer, The Deadly Mantis, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and First Men in the Moon (based on the novel by H.G. Wells).[3] His television work included instalments of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost in Space, and Land of the Giants.
In 1999, he was honored with the Lifetime Career Award by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, USA.
He died at the age of 95 in Palos Verdes, California.
Filmography
The Boy Who Cried Werewolf (1973)
First Men In The Moon (1964)
Jack the Giant Killer (1962)
Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958)
The Brain from Planet Arous (1958)
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)
20 Million Miles To Earth (1957)
The Deadly Mantis (1957)
The Black Castle (1952)
References
- ^ Juran, Joseph M. (2004), Architect of Quality: The Autobiography of Dr. Joseph M. Juran (1 ed.), New York City, New York: McGraw-Hill, pp. 354–355, ISBN 9780071426107, OCLC 52877405
- ^ "Nathan Juran, 95; Art Director, Filmmaker", The Los Angeles Times: B12, November 1, 2002
- ^ Westfahl, Gary, Gary Westfahl's Biographical Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Film, http://www.sfsite.com/gary/jura01.htm, retrieved 2008-04-05
External links
Films directed by Nathan Juran 1950s The Black Castle (1952) · Gunsmoke (1953) · Law and Order (1953) · The Golden Blade (1953) · Tumbleweed (1953) · Highway Dragnet (1954) · Drums Across the River (1954) · The Crooked Web (1955) · Hellcats of the Navy (1957) · The Deadly Mantis (1957) · 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957) · The Brain from Planet Arous (1957) · Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958) · The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) · Good Day for a Hanging (1959)1960s Flight of the Lost Balloon (1961) · Jack the Giant Killer (1962) · Siege of the Saxons (1963) · First Men in the Moon (1964) · East of Sudan (1964) · Land Raiders (1969)1970s The Boy Who Cried Werewolf (1973)Academy Award for Art Direction (1941–1960) 1941–1946
Black & White
/ Color separate1941 (bw): Richard Day, Nathan H. Juran, Thomas Little / (c): Cedric Gibbons, Urie McCleary, Edwin B. Willis • 1942 (bw): Richard Day, Joseph C. Wright, Thomas Little / (c): Richard Day, Joseph C. Wright, Thomas Little • 1943 (bw): James Basevi, William S. Darling, Thomas Little / (c): Alexander Golitzen, John B. Goodman, Russell A. Gausman, Ira S. Webb • 1944 (bw): Cedric Gibbons, William Ferrari, Paul Huldschinsky, Edwin B. Willis / (c): Wiard Ihnen, Thomas Little • 1945 (bw): Wiard Ihnen, A. Roland Fields / (c): Hans Dreier, Ernst Fegté, Samuel M. Comer • 1946 (bw): William S. Darling, Lyle R. Wheeler, Thomas Little, Frank E. Hughes / (c): Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse, Edwin B. Willis
1947–1958 renamed
Art Direction
- Set Decoration
Black & White
/ Color separate1947 (bw): John Bryan, Wilfred Shingleton / (c): Alfred Junge • 1948 (bw): Roger K. Furse, Carmen Dillon / (c): Hein Heckroth, Arthur Lawson • 1949 (bw): Harry Horner, John Meehan, Emile Kuri / (c): Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse, Edwin B. Willis, Jack D. Moore • 1950 (bw): Hans Dreier, John Meehan, Samuel M. Comer, Ray Moyer / (c): Hans Dreier, Walter Tyler, Samuel M. Comer, Ray Moyer • 1951 (bw): Richard Day, George James Hopkins / (c): Cedric Gibbons, E. Preston Ames, Edwin B. Willis, F. Keogh Gleason • 1952 (bw): Cedric Gibbons, Edward Carfagno, Edwin B. Willis, F. Keogh Gleason /(c): Paul Sheriff, Marcel Vertès • 1953 (bw): Cedric Gibbons, Edward Carfagno, Edwin B. Willis, Hugh Hunt / (c): Lyle R. Wheeler, George Davis, Walter M. Scott, Paul S. Fox • 1954 (bw): Richard Day / (c): John Meehan, Emile Kuri • 1955 (bw): Hal Pereira, Tambi Larsen, Samuel M. Comer, Arthur Krams / (c): William Flannery, Jo Mielziner, Robert Priestley • 1956 (bw): Cedric Gibbons, Malcolm F. Brown, Edwin B. Willis, F. Keogh Gleason / (c): Lyle R. Wheeler, John DeCuir, Walter M. Scott, Paul S. Fox
1957–1958 1957: Ted Haworth, Robert Priestley • 1958: William A. Horning (posthumous award), E. Preston Ames, Henry Grace, F. Keogh Gleason
1959–1960
Black & White
/ Color separate1959 (bw): Lyle R. Wheeler, George Davis, Walter M. Scott, Stuart A. Reiss / (c): William A. Horning (posthumous award), Edward Carfagno, Hugh Hunt • 1960 (bw): Alexandre Trauner, Edward G. Boyle /(c): Alexander Golitzen, Eric Orbom (posthumous award), Russell A. Gausman, Julia Heron
Complete list · (1927–1940) · (1941–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001–2020) Categories:- American art directors
- American film directors
- American people of Romanian-Jewish descent
- American people of Austrian-Jewish descent
- Best Art Direction Academy Award winners
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
- People from Los Angeles, California
- People from Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Romanian emigrants to the United States
- Romanian Jews
- University of Minnesota alumni
- United States Navy sailors
- American military personnel of World War II
- People of the Office of Strategic Services
- 1907 births
- 2002 deaths
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