Oliver Smith | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1918-02-13)February 13, 1918 Waupun, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Died | January 23, 1994(1994-01-23) (aged 75) Brooklyn,New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Scenic designer and interior designer |
Oliver Smith (February 13, 1918 – January 23, 1994) was an American scenic designer and interior designer.
Born inWaupun, Wisconsin, Smith attendedPenn State, after which he moved toNew York City and began to form friendships that blossomed into working relationships with such talents asLeonard Bernstein,Jerome Robbins,Carson McCullers, andAgnes de Mille. In his early 20s, he lived atFebruary House in Brooklyn with a coterie of famous people centered onGeorge Davis andW. H. Auden. He tended the furnace, washed the dishes, and soothed the tempers of both residents and visitors. His career was launched with his designs forLéonide Massine'sballetSaratoga in 1941 and de Mille'sRodeo in 1942.
Smith designed dozens ofBroadwaymusicals,films (Guys and Dolls,The Band Wagon,Oklahoma!,Porgy and Bess), andoperas (La Traviata). His association with theAmerican Ballet Theatre (ABT) began in 1944, when he collaborated with Robbins and Bernstein on the balletFancy Free, which served as the inspiration for the musicalOn the Town. The following year, he became co-director of ABT withLucia Chase, a position he held until 1980. He did the scenic design for the 1949 Broadway revue,Along Fifth Avenue, starringNancy Walker andJackie Gleason, which ran for 180 performances. He designed the sets for ABT's complete 1967 production ofSwan Lake, the first full-length version mounted by an American company.
Smith also trained young designers for many years, serving on the faculty ofNew York University'sTisch School of the Arts, where he taughtmaster classes in scenic design.
Throughout his career, Smith was nominated for 25 Tony Awards, often multiple times in the same year, and won 10. He was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Art Direction for his work onGuys and Dolls.
Smith was inducted into theAmerican Theater Hall of Fame in 1981.[1] In 2011, Smith was inducted into theNational Museum of Dance's Mr. & Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Hall of Fame.
Smith redesigned the ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel (New York City Landmark and Interior Landmark), New York, in the early 1960s.
Smith died ofemphysema inBrooklyn, New York.
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