Albert Nozaki (1 January 1912 – 16 November 2003) was a

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

who worked on various films for

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. He is perhaps best known for his memorable design of the

Martian Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has appeared as a setting in works of fiction since at least the mid-1600s. It became the most popular celestial object in fiction in the late 1800s as the Moon was evidently lifeless. At the time, the pred ...

war machines from the 1953 film ''

The War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by ''Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appear ...

'' and for his

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-nominated art direction on the 1956

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cinem ...

epic, ''

The Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ� ...

''. He retired in 1969 due to

retinitis pigmentosa Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a genetic disorder of the eyes that causes loss of vision. Symptoms include trouble seeing at night and decreasing peripheral vision (side and upper or lower visual field). As peripheral vision worsens, people may ...

, which ultimately cost him his sight. Starting out at Paramount as a draftsman in the Paramount set-design department in 1934, he retired in 1969 as the studio's supervising art director for feature films.

Biography

Born in Japan, Nozaki's family moved to the United States when he was 3 and settled in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Nozaki earned a bachelor's degree in architecture from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

in 1933 and a master's degree in architectural engineering from the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

in 1934. In 1938, and for many years thereafter, Al Nozaki lived in Echo Park, California. Shortly after the Japanese attack on

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

in 1941, Nozaki was abruptly dismissed from his job at Paramount. Following the signing of

Executive Order 9066 Executive Order 9066 was a United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. This order authorized the secretary of war to prescribe certain ...

in the spring of 1942, and the subsequent roundup of 120,000 West Coast residents of Japanese descent, he and his wife, Lorna, were sent to the

Manzanar Manzanar is the site of one of ten American concentration camps, where more than 120,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II from March 1942 to November 1945. Although it had over 10,000 inmates at its peak, it was one o ...

internment Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

camp in California's Owens Valley. Among his many other credits as an art director are ''

When Worlds Collide ''When Worlds Collide'' is a 1933 science fiction novel co-written by Edwin Balmer and Philip Wylie; they also co-authored the sequel ''After Worlds Collide'' (1934). It was first published as a six-part monthly serial (September 1932 through Fe ...

'', ''

The Big Clock ''The Big Clock'' is a 1946 novel by Kenneth Fearing. Published by Harcourt Brace, the thriller was Fearing's fourth novel, following three for Random House (''The Hospital'', ''Dagger of the Mind'', ''Clark Gifford's Body'') and five collections ...

'', ''

Sorrowful Jones ''Sorrowful Jones'', also known as ''Damon Runyon's Sorrowful Jones'', is a 1949 American comedy-drama film directed by Sidney Lanfield. The film stars Lucille Ball and Bob Hope. ''Sorrowful Jones'' was a remake of a 1934 Shirley Temple film, '' ...

'', ''

Appointment with Danger ''Appointment with Danger'' is a 1950 American crime film noir directed by Lewis Allen and written by Richard L. Breen and Warren Duff. The drama features Alan Ladd, Phyllis Calvert and Paul Stewart, among others. Plot At the Hotel Compton in G ...

'', ''

Pony Express The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders. It operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861, between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pik ...

'', ''

Houdini Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...

'', '' The Buccaneer'', and '' Loving You''. Nozaki died on November 16, 2003, in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

from complications of pneumonia.

Documentaries

Albert Nozaki appeared in the documentary ''

The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal ''The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal'' is a 1985 American documentary film about Academy Award-winning producer/director George Pal. It was written, directed, and produced by Arnold Leibovit. Summary The film follows Pal's career, beginning w ...

'' (1985) (produced and directed by

Arnold Leibovit Arnold Leibovit (born June 18, 1950) is an American director, producer, and screenwriter of feature films and musical productions. An acting member of the Producers Guild of America, he has produced, directed, and written several feature films. ...

References

External links

*
"War of the Worlds"
page compiled by Roger Russell at roger-russell.com including information about Al lbertNozaki ''retrieved 2 February 2012''
Albert Nozaki papers, 1950-1956.
Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Click on Production Art inventory to see examples of Nozaki's work.) American art directors People from Tokyo Japanese emigrants to the United States USC School of Architecture alumni University of Illinois alumni Japanese-American internees 1912 births 2003 deaths People from Echo Park, Los Angeles {{US-artdirector-stub