Fred Sersen
Encyclopedia
Fred Sersen was a Czechoslovak/American painter and cinema special effect
s artist working mainly at 20th Century Fox
Studios from the 1930s to the 1950s with credits in over 200 movies. He won two Academy Awards for Best Effects, Special Effects (photographic), in 1940 for The Rains Came
, and in 1944 for Crash Dive
. An artificial lake created for the former movie was named in his honor.
. At the age of 17 he came to the United states. He studied art at the Los Angeles School of Art and Design, the Portland Art Academy, and the San Francisco Institute of Art.
His first credited film was A Connecticut Yankee (1931). In 1937 he recreated the 1871 Great Chicago Fire on the screen for the movie In Old Chicago
.
He died December 11, 1962 in Los Angeles, California.
Special effect
The illusions used in the film, television, theatre, or entertainment industries to simulate the imagined events in a story are traditionally called special effects ....
s artist working mainly at 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...
Studios from the 1930s to the 1950s with credits in over 200 movies. He won two Academy Awards for Best Effects, Special Effects (photographic), in 1940 for The Rains Came
The Rains Came
The Rains Came is the title of a novel by Louis Bromfield, published in 1937, as well as the 1939 20th Century Fox film version which followed it...
, and in 1944 for Crash Dive
Crash Dive
Crash Dive is a World War II film in Technicolor released in 1943. It was directed by Archie Mayo, written by Jo Swerling and W.R. Burnett, and starred Tyrone Power, Dana Andrews and Anne Baxter...
. An artificial lake created for the former movie was named in his honor.
Biography
Fred Sersen was born Ferdinand Sersen, February 24, 1890, in CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. At the age of 17 he came to the United states. He studied art at the Los Angeles School of Art and Design, the Portland Art Academy, and the San Francisco Institute of Art.
His first credited film was A Connecticut Yankee (1931). In 1937 he recreated the 1871 Great Chicago Fire on the screen for the movie In Old Chicago
In Old Chicago
In Old Chicago is a 1937 American drama film directed by Henry King. The screenplay by Sonya Levien and Lamar Trotti was based on the Niven Busch story, "We the O'Learys." The film is a fictionalized account about the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and stars Alice Brady as Mrs. O'Leary, the owner of...
.
He died December 11, 1962 in Los Angeles, California.
Awards
- Academy Award for The Rains CameThe Rains CameThe Rains Came is the title of a novel by Louis Bromfield, published in 1937, as well as the 1939 20th Century Fox film version which followed it...
(1939) - Academy Award nomination for The Blue BirdThe Blue Bird (1940 film)The Blue Bird is a 1940 American fantasy film directed by Walter Lang. The screenplay by Walter Bullock was adapted from the 1908 play of the same name by Maurice Maeterlinck...
(1940) - Academy Award nomination for A Yank in the R.A.F. (1941)
- Academy Award nomination for The Black SwanThe Black Swan (film)The Black Swan is a 1942 swashbuckler Technicolor film by Henry King, based on a novel by Rafael Sabatini, and starring Tyrone Power and Maureen O'Hara. It was nominated for three Academy Awards, and won one for Best Cinematography, Color.-Plot:...
(1942) - Academy Award for Crash DiveCrash DiveCrash Dive is a World War II film in Technicolor released in 1943. It was directed by Archie Mayo, written by Jo Swerling and W.R. Burnett, and starred Tyrone Power, Dana Andrews and Anne Baxter...
(1943) - Academy Award nomination for WilsonWilson (film)Wilson is a 1944 biographical film in Technicolor about President Woodrow Wilson. It stars Charles Coburn, Alexander Knox, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Thomas Mitchell and Sir Cedric Hardwicke.The movie was written by Lamar Trotti and directed by Henry King...
(1944) - Academy Award nomination for Captain Eddie (1945)
- Academy Award nomination for Deep WatersDeep Waters (film)Deep Waters is a 1948 drama film directed by Henry King. The film is based on the 1946 novel Spoonhandle written by Ruth Moore and was nominated for an Academy Award.-Plot:...
(1948)