Douglas Leigh | |
|---|---|
 Douglas Leigh (r) with Mickey Rooney | |
| Born | May 24, 1907 |
| Died | December 14, 1999(1999-12-14) (aged 92) New York City, US |
| Alma mater | University of Florida |
| Known for | Being a pioneer in signage andoutdoor advertising |
Douglas Leigh (May 24, 1907 – December 14, 1999) was an American advertising executive and lighting designer, and a pioneer in signage andoutdoor advertising.[1][2] He is famous for making New York City'sTimes Square the site of some of the world's most famousneon signs,[3] or electricbillboards.[4][5] Leigh also designed the colored lighting scheme for theEmpire State Building.[6]
After financing his education at theUniversity of Florida by buying the exclusive right to sell advertising for the yearbook, Leigh became a top salesman for a sign company inBirmingham. In 1929, he moved to New York and got a job at the General Outdoor Advertising Company, but quit in 1933 to strike out on his own.[7]
Leigh then designed a sign for the St. Moritz Hotel in exchange for the right to live there and to use the hotel's address at 50Central Park South for his business. From there, Leigh proceeded to transform the signs at Times Square.[8] His first eye-catching creation was a billboard forA&P, advertising the store'sEight O'Clock Coffee with clouds of steam emanating from a large cup of coffee. ACamel billboard blewsmoke rings from a steam generator,[9] while one forKool cigarettes featured a blinking penguin. One forBallantine Beer had clowns tossingquoits on a peg. TheCoca-Cola sign atBryant Park gave an ever-changing weather forecast (featuring a house and pictures of sun, rain, snow, etc.) along with the slogan "Thirst knows no season" (Leigh paid a tenant's weekly laundry bills to stop her from hanging her laundry on her clothesline in front of the sign). Leigh's design creation of a large illuminated snowflake, which was 17 feet wide by 14 feet tall and had 12,000 crystals,[citation needed] is hung at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street every holiday season. Many of Leigh's creations have been replaced with newer signs, for which Leigh set the bar.
Leigh also lent his talents as a consultant for outdoor displays and spectaculars toFreedomland U.S.A., a New York City theme park, during its 1960 debut. He is featured in the book,Freedomland U.S.A.: The Definitive History (Theme Park Press, 2019).
He was the step-grandfather ofPrince Lorenzo Borghese.[10]
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