Boris Leven
Encyclopedia
Boris Leven was a Russia
n-born Academy Award-winning art director and production designer
whose Hollywood career spanned fifty-three years.
Born in Moscow
, Leven emigrated to the United States
in 1927 and became a naturalized citizen
in 1938. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts
in architecture
from the University of Southern California
, he attended the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design
in New York City
.
Leven began his film career as a sketch artist at Paramount Pictures
in 1933 and moved to 20th Century Fox
three years later. His first screen credit was as the art director for Alexander's Ragtime Band
(1938), which garnered him the first of nine Oscar nominations.
The designs Leven created over the years ranged from realistic to highly stylistic. For Giant (1956), he constructed the Victorian home that sits isolated in a wide expanse of open field, which became an iconic image for the film. His work for West Side Story
(1961), which won him the Academy Award for Best Color Art Direction
, included actual New York City locations combined with a tenement
rooftop and fire escape
, inspired by the more abstract stage production, that were built on a soundstage. For New York, New York
(1977), he created a fantasized
version of Manhattan
set in the 1940s.
As an art director, Leven contributed to The Flying Deuces
(1939), Hello Frisco, Hello (1943), Invaders from Mars
(1953), The Silver Chalice
(1954), and Jonathan Livingston Seagull
(1973), among others. His credits as production designer include Donovan's Brain
(1953), Anatomy of a Murder
(1959), Two for the Seesaw (1962), The Sand Pebbles
(1966), The Sound of Music
(1965), Star!
(1968), The Andromeda Strain
(1971), Mandingo
(1975), The Last Waltz
(1978), The King of Comedy
(1982), Fletch
(1985), and The Color of Money
(1986).
Leven wed Vera Glooshkoff on February 8, 1946. He died in Los Angeles, California
. Mrs. Leven died at the age of 101 in June 2011. Prior to her death she had passed several of Boris Leven's paintings and film drawings to the University of Southern California and New York's MOMA.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n-born Academy Award-winning art director and production designer
Production designer
In film and television, a production designer is the person responsible for the overall look of a filmed event such as films, TV programs, music videos or adverts. Production designers have one of the key creative roles in the creation of motion pictures and television. Working directly with the...
whose Hollywood career spanned fifty-three years.
Born in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Leven emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1927 and became a naturalized citizen
Naturalization
Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....
in 1938. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
from the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, he attended the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design
Beaux-Arts Institute of Design
The Beaux-Arts Institute of Design was an art and architectural school at 304 East 44th Street in Turtle Bay, Manhattan, in New York City...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
in 1933 and moved to 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
three years later. His first screen credit was as the art director for Alexander's Ragtime Band
Alexander's Ragtime Band (film)
Alexander's Ragtime Band is a film released by Twentieth Century Fox that takes its name from the 1911 Irving Berlin song "Alexander's Ragtime Band" to tell a story of a society boy who scandalizes his family by pursuing a career in Ragtime instead of in "serious" music...
(1938), which garnered him the first of nine Oscar nominations.
The designs Leven created over the years ranged from realistic to highly stylistic. For Giant (1956), he constructed the Victorian home that sits isolated in a wide expanse of open field, which became an iconic image for the film. His work for West Side Story
West Side Story (film)
West Side Story is a 1961 musical film directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. The film is an adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was adapted from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It stars Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno,...
(1961), which won him the Academy Award for Best Color Art Direction
Academy Award for Best Art Direction
The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
, included actual New York City locations combined with a tenement
Tenement
A tenement is, in most English-speaking areas, a substandard multi-family dwelling, usually old, occupied by the poor.-History:Originally the term tenement referred to tenancy and therefore to any rented accommodation...
rooftop and fire escape
Fire escape
A fire escape is a special kind of emergency exit, usually mounted to the outside of a building or occasionally inside but separate from the main areas of the building. It provides a method of escape in the event of a fire or other emergency that makes the stairwells inside a building inaccessible...
, inspired by the more abstract stage production, that were built on a soundstage. For New York, New York
New York, New York (film)
New York, New York is a 1977 American musical-drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a musical tribute, featuring new songs by John Kander and Fred Ebb as well as standards, to Scorsese's home town of New York City, and stars Robert De Niro and Liza Minnelli as a pair of musicians and...
(1977), he created a fantasized
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
version of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
set in the 1940s.
As an art director, Leven contributed to The Flying Deuces
The Flying Deuces
The Flying Deuces, also known as Flying Aces, is a 1939 comedy film starring Laurel and Hardy, in which the duo join the French Foreign Legion. It is a partial remake of their 1931 short film Beau Hunks.- Plot :...
(1939), Hello Frisco, Hello (1943), Invaders from Mars
Invaders from Mars (1953 film)
Invaders From Mars is a science fiction film directed by William Cameron Menzies, taken from a scenario by Richard Blake, and based on a story treatment by John Tucker Battle who was inspired by a dream recounted by his wife. It was produced independently by Edward L. Alperson Jr. and starred...
(1953), The Silver Chalice
The Silver Chalice
The Silver Chalice is a 1952 English language historical novel by Thomas B. Costain. It is the fictional story of the making of a silver chalice to hold the Holy Grail and includes 1st century biblical and historical figures: Luke, Joseph of Arimathea, Simon Magus and his companion Helena, and the...
(1954), and Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Jonathan Livingston Seagull (film)
Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a 1973 American film directed by Hall Bartlett, adapted from the novella by Richard Bach. The film, which has no human actors on screen, tells the story of a young seabird who, after being outcast by his stern flock, goes on an odyssey to discover how to break the...
(1973), among others. His credits as production designer include Donovan's Brain
Donovan's Brain
Donovan's Brain is a 1942 science fiction novel by Curt Siodmak.The novel has become something of a cult classic, with fans including Stephen King. King discusses the novel in his own book Danse Macabre and the line Cory uses to resist Donovan is repeated to similar effect in King's horror novel,...
(1953), Anatomy of a Murder
Anatomy of a Murder
Anatomy of a Murder is a 1959 American courtroom crime drama film. It was directed by Otto Preminger and adapted by Wendell Mayes from the best-selling novel of the same name written by Michigan Supreme Court Justice John D. Voelker under the pen name Robert Traver...
(1959), Two for the Seesaw (1962), The Sand Pebbles
The Sand Pebbles (film)
The Sand Pebbles is a 1966 American period war film directed by Robert Wise. It tells the story of an independent, rebellious U.S. Navy Machinist's Mate aboard the fictional gunboat USS San Pablo in 1920s China....
(1966), The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music (film)
Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical film directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The film is based on the Broadway musical The Sound of Music, with songs written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, and with the musical...
(1965), Star!
Star! (film)
Star! is a 1968 American musical film directed by Robert Wise. The screenplay by William Fairchild is based upon the life and career of British performer Gertrude Lawrence.-Plot:...
(1968), The Andromeda Strain
The Andromeda Strain (film)
The Andromeda Strain is a 1971 American science-fiction film, based on the novel published in 1969 by Michael Crichton. The film is about a team of scientists who investigate a deadly organism of extraterrestrial origin that causes rapid, fatal blood clotting. Directed by Robert Wise, the film...
(1971), Mandingo
Mandingo (film)
Mandingo is a 1975 film, based on the novel Mandingo by Kyle Onstott and upon the play based thereon by Jack Kirkland. The film was directed by Richard Fleischer and featured James Mason, Susan George, Perry King, Lillian Hayman, boxer-turned-actor Ken Norton, and bodybuilder and pro...
(1975), The Last Waltz
The Last Waltz
The Last Waltz was a concert by the rock group The Band, held on American Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco...
(1978), The King of Comedy
The King of Comedy (1983 film)
The King of Comedy is a 1983 American dark comedy film starring Robert De Niro and Jerry Lewis, and directed by Martin Scorsese. The subject of the movie is celebrity stalking...
(1982), Fletch
Fletch (film)
Fletch is a 1985 comedy film about a wisecracking investigative newspaper reporter, Irwin M. Fletcher , who writes under the name of Jane Doe...
(1985), and The Color of Money
The Color of Money
The Color of Money is a 1986 film directed by Martin Scorsese from a screenplay by Richard Price, based on the 1984 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis....
(1986).
Leven wed Vera Glooshkoff on February 8, 1946. He died in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. Mrs. Leven died at the age of 101 in June 2011. Prior to her death she had passed several of Boris Leven's paintings and film drawings to the University of Southern California and New York's MOMA.