Gretchen Rau (July 6, 1939 – March 29, 2006) was a professional
property master
The property master, often called the prop(s) master, is an artistic and organizational employee in a film, television or theatrical production who is responsible for purchasing, acquiring, manufacturing, properly placing, and/or overseeing any p ...
,
set decorator
The set decorator is the head of the set decoration department in the film and television industry, responsible for selecting, designing, fabricating, and sourcing the " set dressing" elements of each set in a Feature Film, Television, or New Media ...
, and
art director in the American film industry. Her more notable projects include the films ''
Crocodile Dundee
''Crocodile Dundee'' (stylized as ''"Crocodile" Dundee'' in the U.S.) is a 1986 action comedy film set in the Australian Outback and in New York City. It stars Paul Hogan as the weathered Mick Dundee, and American actress Linda Kozlowski as ...
'', ''
A River Runs Through It'', ''
The Crucible
''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. Miller wrote the play as ...
'', and ''
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
''The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou'' is a 2004 American adventure comedy-drama film written by Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach and directed by Anderson. It is Anderson's fourth feature-length film and was released in the United States on Decembe ...
''.
Additionally, she won an
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 ...
for set decoration for ''
Memoirs of a Geisha
''Memoirs of a Geisha'' is a historical fiction novel by American author Arthur Golden, published in 1997. The novel, told in first person perspective, tells the story of Nitta Sayuri and the many trials she faces on the path to becoming and ...
'',
and was nominated for ''
The Last Samurai
''The Last Samurai'' is a 2003 epic period action drama film directed and co-produced by Edward Zwick, who also co-wrote the screenplay with John Logan and Marshall Herskovitz from a story devised by Logan. The film stars Ken Watanabe in the ...
'' and posthumously for ''
The Good Shepherd''.
Born in
, she lived most of her life in
Northport, Long Island, New York until her death in 2006 from brain cancer, aged 66.
References
External links
*
Deaths from brain cancer in the United States
Best Art Direction Academy Award winners
Deaths from cancer in New York (state)
American art directors
American set decorators
Artists from New Orleans
People from Northport, New York
1939 births
2006 deaths
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