Ken Adam, revered as one of the greatest production designers in the history of film, died Thursday in his sleep at his home in London, the AP reports. He was 95.
Adam is credited with creating much of the look for the James Bond franchise, beginning with the first film in the series, “Dr. No” in 1962, where his memorable designs included the base for Dr. No and the interior of the British Secret Service headquarters. “Adam was behind the Fort Knox vaults of ‘Goldfinger,’ the iconic volcano hideaway of ‘You Only Live Twice’ and Bond’s gadget-filled Aston Martin,” the AP notes.
Adam also created the War Room for “Dr. Strangelove.” “In the art of production design, Adam’s work on Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 classic is widely considered among the craft’s highest achievements,” the AP notes. “His enormous, expressionistic set evoked a bomb shelter with a circular, lamp-lit table in the middle, designed to suggest a poker table. It was here where Peter Sellers famously chastised a tussling Air Force general and Russian ambassador: ‘Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here. This is the War Room!'”
Adam won his first Oscar for a later Kubrick film, the 1975 release “Barry Lyndon,” sharing the award with Vernon Dixon and Roy Walker. He won again for the 1994 movie “The Madness of King George,” sharing honors with Carolyn Scott.
“Dr. Strangelove” (1964) — The War Room
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