ADG Awards: Art Directors To Induct Ken Adam & Tyrus Wong Into Hall Of Fame

The Art Directors Guild Hall of Fame’s Class of 2018 is set. Sir Ken Adam, the Oscar-winning production designer behind Dr. Strangelove and the James Bond franchise, and Bambi illustrator and longtime Warner Bros veteran Tyrus Wong will be inducted during the 22nd annual ADG Awards on January 27 at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood and Highland.

“There are few exceptionally gifted artists who are capable of inspiring all of us through their command of imagination, color, form and visual emotion,” said ADG Council Chairwoman Marcia Hinds. “Sir Ken Adam and Tyrus Wong are two such legendary and iconic artists, and we are honored to celebrate their lives as they are inducted into the ADG Hall of Fame. Through their unique visions and talents, they have both made enormous contributions to the art of narrative design.”

Here are bios of the pair, provided by ADG:

British production designer Adam, who died last year, was best known for his set designs for the James Bond films of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for Dr. Strangelove (1964). He was hired for the first James Bond film, Dr. No in 1962. Recognized for his innovative, semi-futuristic sets, Adam returned as the production designer for numerous additional 007 films including Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979).

Adam returned to work with Stanley Kubrick on Barry Lyndon (1975), for which he won an Oscar. His many award-winning production designer credits include The Ipcress File (1965) and its sequel Funeral in Berlin (1966), Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969), Sleuth (1972) and The Madness of King George (1994), for which he won his second Oscar for Best Art Direction. In 2003, Adam was knighted for services to the film industry and Anglo-German relations.

Wong, who died in December at 106, was one of the most celebrated Chinese-American artists of the 20th century. His art covered more than film. He was a renowned illustrator, painter, muralist, ceramicist, lithographer and kite maker. Best known for his significant contributions to Disney’s classic motion picture Bambi, Wong created the film’s soft water-colored backgrounds and beautiful palettes during his work at Disney Studios from 1938-41. Bambi received praise for its “haunting visual style,” and Wong was named a Disney Legend. In addition to Disney, he worked as a production illustrator for Warner Bros for 26 years and was a Hallmark greeting card designer; some of his cards sold more than a million copies.

Wong is the subject of Pamela Tom’s award-winning documentary Tyrus. Through interviews, archival footage and never-before-seen artwork, the film traces Wong’s life and career from his birth in China, overcoming racism and an internment camp upon arrival to the United States to the studios of the Golden Age of Hollywood to the beaches of Santa Monica, where the centenarian loved to fly his colorful handmade kites.