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Lyle R. Wheeler Biography

Birth Name:Lyle Reynolds Wheeler

Birth Place:Woburn, Massachusetts, United States

Profession Art director, Production designer, Art department, Set decorator

Fast Facts

Attended the USC School of Architecture, and later received an honorary degree from the institution
Started working for MGM as a layout artist in 1931, and quickly worked his way up the ranks to assistant art director
Became an industrial designer before getting involved in the film industry
Started his career as a magazine illustrator
Quote: "I had to argue with [David O․] Selznick about everything․ I always won, too, at least in my own mind․"
Quote: "[on reuniting with his Oscar] "I didn't believe I was ever going to see even one of these again․""
An art director known for such Golden Age classics as "Gone With the Wind," "Anna and the King of Siam" and "The Diary of Anne Frank․"
Had a long association with producers David O․ Selznick and Alexander Korda
An architect outside of the film set, he designed the Beverly Hills Post Office, the Hawthorne Elementary School in Beverly Hills, a fountain at Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards and the decorative exterior of Hoover Dam
Though his Oscars were auctioned off when he failed to pay a storage bill, a former New York hospital supervisor reunited him with the statue he won for "Anne Frank" a year before his death

Awards

1938Oscar-Best Art Direction: nominated
1939Oscar-Best Art Direction: nominated
1940Oscar-Best Art Direction: winner
1941Oscar-Best Art Direction, Black-and-White: nominated
1945Oscar-Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White: nominated
1946Oscar-Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Color: nominated
1947Oscar-Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White: winner
1948Oscar-Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White: nominated
1950Oscar-Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White: nominated
1951Oscar-Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White: nominated
1952Oscar-Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color: nominated
1952Oscar-Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color: nominated
1952Oscar-Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White: nominated
1952Oscar-Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White: nominated
1953Oscar-Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White: nominated
1953Oscar-Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White: nominated
1953Oscar-Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color: nominated
1954Oscar-Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White: nominated
1954Oscar-Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color: winner
1954Oscar-Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White: nominated
1955Oscar-Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color: nominated
1956Oscar-Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color: nominated
1956Oscar-Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color: nominated
1957Oscar-Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White: nominated
1957Oscar-Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color: winner
1959Oscar-Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White or Color: nominated
1960Oscar-Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White: winner
1960Oscar-Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color: nominated
1964Oscar-Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color: nominated