French-American special effects artist
Emil Kosa Jr.
Born (1903-11-28 ) November 28, 1903Paris, France
Died November 4, 1968(1968-11-04) (aged 64)Los Angeles, California
Occupation(s)
Visual effects artist ; painter Years active 1958–1969 (last film released after his death)
Emil Kosa Jr. (November 28, 1903 – November 4, 1968) was an American artist of Czech origin. He was the art director of
20th Century Pictures ' special effects department for more than three decades, winning an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects along the way. As a painter of landscapes and urban scenes, he also became known as a prominent member of the
California Scene Painting movement.
Family and education
Emil Kosa Jr. was born in Paris, France.
[1] His parents were Emil Kosa Sr., Czech artist, and Jeanne Mares Kosa, a French pianist for the
Paris Opera .
[1] After his mother died at the age of three, the family moved to Bohemia and his father married a Czech wife. Except of 1908, when the family moved temporarily to
Cape Cod , Massachusetts, where his father worked with
Alphonse Mucha .
[1] Four years later, the family returned to Bohemia where he attended the primary and secondary school during and after the World War I.
[1]
After World War I ended, Kosa Jr. trained in art at the
Academy of Fine Arts, Prague .
[1] After a mere three semesters, he moved to the United States in January 1921, rejoining his family (which had preceded him in emigrating to the United States).
[1] He took art courses at the
California Institute of the Arts in Valencia.
[1]
In 1927, he became a
naturalized American citizen .
[1] He spent the following year in Paris, studying at the
École des Beaux Arts and with Pierre Laurens and
Frank Kupka , and returned to California in 1928.
[1]
Career
Kosa is credited with designing the logo for 20th Century Fox, this is the first on-screen logo from 1935.
Early in his career, Kosa Jr. worked as a
mural painter and designer for various architects and interior decoration firms.
[1]
[2] He also ran a business with his father producing decorative art objects for churches and auditoriums.
[1]
As a painter, Kosa Jr. was stylistically affiliated with the movement that became known as
California Scene Painting .
[1] He painted mainly California landscapes and urban settings in both oil and watercolor, and he also produced commissioned portraits of celebrities, businessmen, and politicians.
[1] His work was widely exhibited starting in the 1930s, with solo shows at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and elsewhere.
[1]
In 1933, he joined the newly formed special effects department at
20th Century Fox (later
20th Century Studios ). He was quickly promoted to
art director , a position he held for the next 35 years.
[1] In 1964, he became the first person to win the
Best Visual Effects after the Academy Awards changed the name from Special Effects.
[3] He won at the
36th Academy Awards for his work on the film
Cleopatra .
[3]
He also helped to create the first logo for
20th Century Pictures (later
20th Century-Fox , later
20th Century Studios ).
[4]
[5]
[6]
Personal life
Kosa Jr. was married twice: in 1928 to Mary Odisho (d. 1951) and in 1952 to dancer Elizabeth Twaddel.
[1]
References
^
a
b
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i
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"Emil Kosa, Jr. (1903–1968)" . Jonathan Art Foundation.
^
"Emil Kosa Jr" . Emilkosa.com . Archived from
the original on April 28, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2014 .
^
a
b
"The 36th Academy Awards (1964) Nominees and Winners" . oscars.org . Retrieved April 13, 2014 .
^
"20th Century Fox Logo" . FamousLogos.net . Retrieved April 13, 2014 .
^
"20th century Fox logo by Emil Kosa Jr" . Curiator . Retrieved April 1, 2020 .
^ Troyan, Michael; Thompson, Jeffrey Paul; Sylvester, Stephen X. (August 15, 2017).
Twentieth Century Fox: A Century of Entertainment . Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 533–534.
ISBN
9781630761431 .
External links
1963–1980
Emil Kosa Jr. –
Cleopatra (1963)
Peter Ellenshaw ,
Eustace Lycett , and
Hamilton Luske –
Mary Poppins (1964)
John Stears –
Thunderball (1965)
Art Cruickshank –
Fantastic Voyage (1966)
L. B. Abbott –
Doctor Dolittle (1967)
Stanley Kubrick –
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Robie Robertson –
Marooned (1969)
A. D. Flowers and
L. B. Abbott –
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
Alan Maley ,
Eustace Lycett , and
Danny Lee –
Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
L. B. Abbott and
A. D. Flowers –
The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
Frank Brendel ,
Glen Robinson , and
Albert Whitlock –
Earthquake (1974)
Albert Whitlock and
Glen Robinson –
The Hindenburg (1975)
Carlo Rambaldi ,
Glen Robinson , and
Frank Van der Veer –
King Kong (1976)
John Stears ,
John Dykstra ,
Richard Edlund ,
Grant McCune , and
Robert Blalack –
Star Wars (1977)
Les Bowie ,
Colin Chilvers ,
Denys Coop ,
Roy Field ,
Derek Meddings , and
Zoran Perisic –
Superman (1978)
H. R. Giger ,
Carlo Rambaldi ,
Brian Johnson ,
Nick Allder , and
Dennis Ayling –
Alien (1979)
Brian Johnson ,
Richard Edlund ,
Dennis Muren , and
Bruce Nicholson –
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
1981–2000
Richard Edlund ,
Kit West ,
Bruce Nicholson , and
Joe Johnston –
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Carlo Rambaldi ,
Dennis Muren , and
Kenneth F. Smith –
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Richard Edlund ,
Dennis Muren ,
Ken Ralston , and
Phil Tippett –
Return of the Jedi (1983)
Dennis Muren ,
Michael J. McAlister ,
Lorne Peterson , and
George Gibbs –
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
Ken Ralston ,
Ralph McQuarrie ,
Scott Farrar , and
David Berry –
Cocoon (1985)
Robert Skotak ,
Stan Winston ,
John Richardson , and
Suzanne M. Benson –
Aliens (1986)
Dennis Muren ,
Bill George ,
Harley Jessup , and
Kenneth F. Smith -
Innerspace (1987)
Ken Ralston ,
Richard Williams ,
Edward Jones , and
George Gibbs –
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
John Bruno ,
Dennis Muren ,
Hoyt Yeatman , and
Dennis Skotak –
The Abyss (1989)
Eric Brevig ,
Rob Bottin ,
Tim McGovern , and
Alex Funke –
Total Recall (1990)
Dennis Muren ,
Stan Winston ,
Gene Warren Jr. , and
Robert Skotak –
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Ken Ralston ,
Doug Chiang ,
Douglas Smythe , and
Tom Woodruff Jr. –
Death Becomes Her (1992)
Dennis Muren ,
Stan Winston ,
Phil Tippett , and
Michael Lantieri –
Jurassic Park (1993)
Ken Ralston ,
George Murphy ,
Stephen Rosenbaum , and
Allen Hall –
Forrest Gump (1994)
Scott E. Anderson ,
Charles Gibson ,
Neal Scanlan , and
John Cox –
Babe (1995)
Volker Engel ,
Douglas Smith ,
Clay Pinney , and
Joe Viskocil –
Independence Day (1996)
Robert Legato ,
Mark Lasoff ,
Thomas L. Fisher , and
Michael Kanfer –
Titanic (1997)
Joel Hynek ,
Nicholas Brooks ,
Stuart Robertson , and
Kevin Mack –
What Dreams May Come (1998)
John Gaeta ,
Janek Sirrs ,
Steve Courtley , and
Jon Thum –
The Matrix (1999)
John Nelson ,
Neil Corbould ,
Tim Burke , and
Rob Harvey –
Gladiator (2000)
2001–2020
Jim Rygiel ,
Randall William Cook ,
Richard Taylor , and
Mark Stetson –
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Jim Rygiel ,
Joe Letteri ,
Randall William Cook , and
Alex Funke –
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Jim Rygiel ,
Joe Letteri ,
Randall William Cook , and
Alex Funke –
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
John Dykstra ,
Scott Stokdyk ,
Anthony LaMolinara , and
John Frazier –
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Joe Letteri ,
Brian Van't Hul ,
Christian Rivers , and
Richard Taylor –
King Kong (2005)
John Knoll ,
Hal Hickel ,
Charles Gibson , and
Allen Hall –
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
Michael L. Fink ,
Bill Westenhofer ,
Ben Morris , and
Trevor Wood –
The Golden Compass (2007)
Eric Barba ,
Steve Preeg ,
Burt Dalton , and
Craig Barron –
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Joe Letteri ,
Stephen Rosenbaum ,
Richard Baneham , and
Andrew R. Jones –
Avatar (2009)
Paul Franklin ,
Chris Corbould ,
Andrew Lockley , and
Peter Bebb –
Inception (2010)
Robert Legato ,
Joss Williams ,
Ben Grossmann , and
Alex Henning –
Hugo (2011)
Bill Westenhofer ,
Guillaume Rocheron ,
Erik-Jan de Boer , and
Donald R. Elliott –
Life of Pi (2012)
Tim Webber ,
Chris Lawrence ,
Dave Shirk , and
Neil Corbould –
Gravity (2013)
Paul Franklin ,
Andrew Lockley ,
Ian Hunter , and
Scott R. Fisher –
Interstellar (2014)
Mark Williams Ardington ,
Sara Bennett ,
Paul Norris , and
Andrew Whitehurst –
Ex Machina (2015)
Robert Legato ,
Adam Valdez ,
Andrew R. Jones , and
Dan Lemmon –
The Jungle Book (2016)
John Nelson ,
Gerd Nefzer ,
Paul Lambert , and
Richard R. Hoover –
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Paul Lambert ,
Ian Hunter ,
Tristan Myles , and
J. D. Schwalm –
First Man (2018)
Guillaume Rocheron ,
Greg Butler , and
Dominic Tuohy –
1917 (2019)
Andrew Jackson ,
David Lee ,
Andrew Lockley , and
Scott R. Fisher –
Tenet (2020)
2021–present
International National Artists