OBIT - KEN ADAM

Arguably the most legendary of all production designers, Sir Ken Adam, has died. He passed at age 95 on the 10th of March 2016, after a highly distinguished tenure at the top of his field of filmmaking. The Berlin-born Klaus Hugo Adam emigrated to the UK with his family in 1934 and studied there; though his architecture studies weren't put to use in the exact area of work they'd been cultivated for, they were exploited for greater purpose, as Adam went on to serve as the foremost production designer in world cinema for over 40 years. On only his third credit as an art director or production designer, the Oscar Best Picture winning Around the World in Eighty Days, Adam received his first Academy Award nomination, despite going uncredited on the film - it was the first of five nominations including two wins. Among other accolades over the course of Adam's career were two BAFTAs from nine nominations, two London Critics Circle awards, and two special awards from the Art Directors Guild. But more impressive still is his filmography, and a mere glance at it is proof of his inimitable genius for design: seven James Bond films including Goldfinger, You Only Live Twice and The Spy Who Loved Me, Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove and Barry Lyndon, and other titles including The Ipcress File, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Sleuth, Addams Family Values and The Madness of King George. Having completed his final film project in 2001, he dedicated his entire body of work to the Deutsche Kinemathek in 2012. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Maria Letitzia, and will be massively missed.