Smith, Oliver

▪ 1995

      U.S. set designer (b. Feb. 13, 1918, Waupun, Wis.—d. Jan. 23, 1994, Brooklyn Heights, N.Y.), used his imaginative painter's eye to create magnificent and visually striking set designs that served as centrepieces in some 250 theatre, dance, opera, and film productions and helped elevate Ballet Theater (now American Ballet Theater) to international renown while serving as its codirector (1945-80 and 1990-92). Smith, who graduated (1939) with a B.A. in architecture from Pennsylvania State University, was also an inspired painter. His works were displayed in such institutions as New York's Museum of Modern Art and the Art Institute of Chicago. He secured his first professional set design for the Ballet Russe's production of Saratoga (1941) and the following year made his Broadway bow with designs for Rosalinda (1942). His impressive list of credits, which showcased his versatility with colour and style, included Broadway sets for such musicals as My Fair Lady, West Side Story, Camelot, Hello, Dolly!, Flower Drum Song, and Brigadoon; for such ballets as Jerome Robbins' Rodeo and Fancy Free, Agnes deMille's Fall River Legend, Eliot Feld's Harbinger, and Martha Graham's Gospel of Eve; for such operas as La Traviata and Martha; and for such films as Porgy and Bess, Oklahoma!, and The Sound of Music. He both produced and provided the sets for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, No Exit, and On the Town. Smith, the winner of seven Tony awards, was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame in 1981.

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