Dorothea Holt Redmond

Short Biography

Dorothea Holt Redmond Production Designer - Birth: May 18, 1910 Los Angeles Los Angeles County California, USADeath: Feb. 27, 2009 Hollywood Los Angeles County California, USAMotion Picture Art Director, Set Designer. The first American woman in her profession, she was instrumental in creating the visual style of a number of movies, particularly those of Alfred Hitchc*ck. Raised in Los Angeles, she earned a degree in fine arts from the University of Southern California (USC) in 1933, and, in 1936, a degree in illustration fron the College of Art and Design. After teaching briefly, she made her entry into the film business with the 1937 "Nothing Sacred", creating resentment in the previously all-male field. Over the years, she was to contribute to about 30 motion pictures, including "Gone With the Wind", "The Best Years of Our Lives", and "The Ten Commandments", but it was to be with Alfred Hitchock that she was to make her greatest mark. Begining with the 1940 "Rebecca", she collaborated on seven of Mr. Hitchc*ck's features, with "Rear Window" (1954) probably the best known. Working with a man who did not like to share credit, she still became respected within the industry, and was responsible for the German Expressionist feel for which his films are remembered. In the 1943 "Shadow of a Doubt", she was praised for making a sleepy town seem threatening. After working as an architect, Mrs. Redmond joined Walt Disney in 1964, where her major contributions were to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida; Main Street, Fantasyland, and Cinderella's Castle are her creations. She retired in 1974. In 2008, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences highlighted her work in an exhibition titled "Casting a Shadow: Creating the Alfred Hitchc*ck Film". (bio by: Bob Hufford)