Katherine Orrison (born November 18, 1948) is an American set decorator, art director, producer, costumer, author and film historian specializing in the films of

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

, the life and career of actor

Henry Wilcoxon Henry Wilcoxon (born Harry Frederick Wilcoxon; 8 September 1905 – 6 March 1984) was a British-American actor and film producer, born in the British West Indies. He was known as an actor in many of director Cecil B. DeMille's films, also ser ...

, and the epic film ''

The Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten C ...

''.

Early life and education

Orrison was born in

Anniston, Alabama Anniston is a city and the county seat of Calhoun County, Alabama, Calhoun County in Alabama, United States, and is one of two urban centers/principal cities of and included in the Anniston–Oxford metropolitan area, Anniston–Oxford Metropo ...

to John M. Orrison and Mary H. Orrison. She spent time visiting her grandparents in

Pompano Beach, Florida Pompano Beach ( ) is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is located along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, just north of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Fort Lauderdale and 36 miles north of Miami. The nearby Hillsboro Inlet forms part ...

when she was young. She was inspired to pursue film after seeing ''

'' film when she was 9 years old. She even started putting lamb's blood on her doorposts after seeing the film. Orrison graduated from the Sacred Heart Convent in

Cullman, Alabama Cullman is the largest city and county seat of Cullman County, Alabama, United States. It is located along Interstate 65, about north of Birmingham, Alabama, Birmingham and about south of Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville. As of the 2020 United ...

in 1966. She later attended the Pasadena Playhouse College of Theater Arts (in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

). She married Peter Coe, but their marriage was annulled in 1969. After the annulment, Orrison worked for various companies like Filmation and Disney on animated films and commercials from 1969 to 1980. She then attended the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...

from 1980 through 1982.

Career

After leaving the American Film Institute, Orrison worked in the Hollywood

film industry The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production company, production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre- ...

for over twenty years as an animation checker, associate producer, production manager,

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

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 Med ...

and costumer. Her body of work included '' Miracle Mile'' (1988) and ''

The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...

'' (1991). She also restored and decorated the

Mayan Theater The Mayan Theater in Los Angeles, California, is a landmark former movie palace and current nightclub and music venue. History The Mayan Theater opened in August 1927 as a performance arts theater specializing in musical comedy. Leon Hefflin ...

in downtown Los Angeles. Orrison wrote for ''Cult Movies'' magazine writing on topics like ''

Lawrence of Arabia Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British Army officer, archaeologist, diplomat and writer known for his role during the Arab Revolt and Sinai and Palestine campaign against the Ottoman Empire in the First W ...

'', actresses

Yvonne De Carlo Margaret Yvonne Middleton (September 1, 1922January 8, 2007), known professionally as Yvonne De Carlo, was a Canadian-American actress, dancer and singer. She became a Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film star and sex symbol in the 1940s a ...

and

Joan Woodbury Joan Elmer Woodbury (December 17, 1915 – February 22, 1989) was an American actress beginning in the 1930s and continuing well into the 1960s. Early life Woodbury was born in Los Angeles, California on December 17, 1915. Her father was Elmer ...

, the re-modeling of Cecil B. De Mille's home in

Los Feliz LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...

, and ''

Blade Runner ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott from a screenplay by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Di ...

''. In addition, she wrote in their book review column. She worked for ''Cult Movies'' for over ten years. Orrison was a film historian in various television documentaries. Orrison is also an author: she wrote a biography of

called ''Lionheart in Hollywood'' which she worked on for two and a half years. Another one of her books was titled ''Written in Stone: Making Cecil B. DeMille's Epic "The Ten Commandments"''. She has also collaborated on screenplays like ''Rave-On Macbeth'' (2002) a European screenplay. On September 7, 1971, Orrison married Sherman Labby. He is also involved in the film industry as a production illustrator and

storyboard artist A storyboard artist (sometimes called a story artist or visualizer) creates storyboards for advertising agencies and film productions. Work A storyboard artist visualizes stories and sketches frames of the story. Quick pencil drawings and mar ...

. He died in 1998 from the effects of

muscular dystrophy Muscular dystrophies (MD) are a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of rare neuromuscular diseases that cause progressive weakness and breakdown of skeletal muscles over time. The disorders differ as to which muscles are primarily affe ...

Selected filmography

Bibliography

* * * ''Son of a Beach: Movie-Mad Memoirs of

Aron Kincaid Aron Kincaid (born Norman Neale Williams II; June 15, 1940 – January 6, 2011) was an American actor, known for voicing Killer Croc on '' Batman: The Animated Series'' and Sky Lynx on '' The Transformers''. He also voiced characters for ' ...

'' (2019). Independent. ISBN: 978-1702408363 * ''Caravans'' (poems, 2021). BookBaby, NJ. ISBN: 978-1098399931

References

External links

Official website
*
edited version
at Filmcha

Katherine Orrison papers on ''Written in Stone'', MSS 8178
a
L. Tom Perry Special Collections

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orrison, Katherine American film historians American film critics American set decorators Living people 1948 births People from Anniston, Alabama American art directors American film producers American women film producers American women film critics American women historians 21st-century American women