Leslie Frankenheimer (née McCarthy; October 2, 1948 – January 22, 2013) was an American film and television

set decorator The set decorator is the head of the set decoration department in the film and television industry, responsible for selecting, designing, fabricating, and sourcing the "set dressing" elements of each set in a Feature Film, Television, or New Media ...

. She shared in winning four

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

s for her work on the following: * ''

Max Headroom Max Headroom is a fictional artificial intelligence (AI) character portrayed by actor Matt Frewer. Advertised as "the first computer-generated TV presenter", Max was known for his biting commentary on a variety of topical issues, arrogant wit, ...

'' (1987) * ''

Buddy Faro ''Buddy Faro'' is an American crime drama television series created by Mark Frost, starring Dennis Farina that aired on CBS from September 25 to December 4, 1998. The series was cancelled after eight episodes due to low ratings. Premise A legend ...

'' (1998) * ''

James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, ''Rebel Without a Cause' ...

'' (2001) * ''

Carnivàle ''Carnivàle'' () is an American television series set in the United States Dust Bowl during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The series, created by Daniel Knauf, ran for two seasons between 2003 and 2005. In tracing the lives of disparate ...

'' (2003)

Early years

The

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

-born Leslie McCarthy stated that her love for film scenery came as a child when she was allowed to accompany her mother to

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. She stated, "The sets were magnificent—everything in place and so character driven." She added, "I remember how fascinating it was to see these rich rooms held up by unfinished wood and 2×4s! I was very young, but I knew these people were creating magic and I wanted to be a part of it!"

Career

Her first filmwork was on '' Falling in Love Again'' (1980). Around the same time, she received word that a second set decorator was needed in the art department for the film, ''

The Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on ''Saturday Night Live''. Belushi and Aykroyd fronted the band, in character, respective ...

'' (1980). She got the job from having experience as a store window dresser. She dressed the entire

Dixie Square Mall Dixie Square Mall was an enclosed shopping mall at the junction of 151st Street and the Dixie Highway in the Chicago suburb of Harvey, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1966, the mall featured Montgomery Ward, JCPenney, Woolworth, Walgreens, and ...

as shown in the film. Frankenheimer listed her three favorite projects were ''Carnivàle'', ''Max Headroom'', and her second film ''

One from the Heart ''One from the Heart'' is a 1982 American musical romantic drama film co-written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Frederic Forrest, Teri Garr, Raul Julia, Nastassja Kinski, Lainie Kazan, and Harry Dean Stanton. The story is set e ...

''. Her biggest design challenge was with the ''Star Trek: Voyager'' episode " Concerning Flight", where she had to recreate

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

's workroom as a

holodeck The Holodeck is a fictional device from the television franchise ''Star Trek'' which uses "holograms" (projected light and electromagnetic energy which create the illusion of solid objects) to create a realistic 3D simulation of a real or imag ...

program, due to all the detail and the research involved. Franhenheimer was also nominated for an Emmy for her work on the short-lived series ''Emeril'' (2002), which starred

Emeril Lagasse Emeril John Lagassé III ( ; born October 15, 1959) is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, television personality, cookbook author, and National Best Recipe award winner for his "Turkey and Hot Sausage Chili" recipe in 2003. He is a regio ...

. Other television work included such series as ''

The Partridge Family ''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom starring Shirley Jones and featuring David Cassidy. Jones plays a widowed mother, and Cassidy plays the oldest of her five children, in a family who embarks on a music career. It ran from Se ...

'', ''

L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series that ran for eight seasons on NBC, from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. Created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, it centers on the partners, associates and staff of a Los ...

'', ''

Scarecrow and Mrs. King ''Scarecrow and Mrs. King'' is an American television series that aired from October 3, 1983, to September 10, 1987, on CBS. The show starred Kate Jackson and Bruce Boxleitner, as divorced housewife Amanda King and top-level "Agency" operative ...

'', ''

SeaQuest 2032 ''SeaQuest DSV'' (stylized as ''seaQuest DSV'' and also promoted as simply ''seaQuest'') is an American science fiction television series created by Rockne S. O'Bannon. It originally aired on NBC between 1993 and 1996. In its final season, i ...

'', '' Star Trek: Voyager'', ''

The Closer ''The Closer'' is an Television in the United States, American television police procedural starring Kyra Sedgwick as Brenda Leigh Johnson, a Los Angeles Police Department Chief of police#United States, deputy chief. A CIA-trained interrogator o ...

'', '' Kitchen Confidential'', and, most recently, ''

Ben and Kate ''Ben and Kate'' is an American single-camera sitcom television series that ran on Fox from September 25, 2012, to January 22, 2013, as part of the 2012–13 television season. The show was produced by 20th Century Fox Television and Chernin Ent ...

'', among others.

Affiliations

Frankenheimer attended

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, the

New York School of Interior Design New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, and the Art Center College of Design, where she majored in space design. She was a governor of the

Academy of Television Arts & Sciences The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States. It is a 501(c)(6) non-prof ...

Art Directors/Set Decorators peer group.Profile of Leslie Frankenheimer and notice of death
/ref>

Death

Leslie M. Frankenheimer died on January 22, 2013, in her native

, aged 64, following an extended battle with

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

. She is survived by her husband, entertainment attorney John T. Frankenheimer, and their two children. She is interred at

Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park & Mortuary is a cemetery and mortuary located in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles. It is located at 1218 Glendon Avenue in Westwood, with an entrance from Glendon Avenue. The cemetery was ...

.Emmy-Winning Set Decorator Leslie Frankenheimer Dies at 64
/ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frankenheimer, Leslie 1948 births 2013 deaths Primetime Emmy Award winners Deaths from leukemia in California American set decorators University of California, Los Angeles alumni People from Greater Los Angeles Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery