Fred Sersen (February 24, 1890 – December 11, 1962) was an American painter and cinema

special effect Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wor ...

s artist working mainly at

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

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 film was named in his honor.Allmovie

Biography

Fred Sersen was born Ferdinand Metoděj Sršeň, February 24, 1890, in Veselí nad Moravou, then a part of Austria-Hungary, At the age of 17 he moved 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 The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 10 ...

on the screen for the film '' In Old Chicago''. Other notable effects for which he is credited include the fire in '' Hangover Square'', the flying saucer in '' The Day the Earth Stood Still'', and the sinking of the ship in '' Titanic''. He died December 11, 1962 in Los Angeles, California.

Awards

References

External links

*
Entry at askart.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sersen, Fred 1890 births 1962 deaths Best Visual Effects Academy Award winners Special effects people Austro-Hungarian emigrants to the United States People from Veselí nad Moravou