Edwin Booth Willis (January 28, 1893 – November 26, 1963) was an American motion picture set designer and decorator. Willis worked exclusively at

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

studios for his entire career. During his career as a set designer Willis worked on over 600 separate productions. The Internet Movie Database lists his 577 film credits as set decorator, 163 credits as interior decorator and 24 credits as art director. He was nominated for the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

in his profession 32 times, in certain years receiving multiple nominations. Willis won the ''Oscar'' on eight occasions. He was born in Decatur, Illinois and died of cancer in Hollywood, in 1963.

Major awards

Academy Awards

Interior decoration (Color) *''

Blossoms in the Dust ''Blossoms in the Dust'' is a 1941 American biographical film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Felix Bressart, Marsha Hunt, Fay Holden and Samuel S. Hinds. It tells the true story of Edna Gladney, who helped o ...

'' - 1941 *''

The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the Month Club in April 1938. It won the 1939 Pulitzer Prize for the Novel. It was the best-selling n ...

'' - 1946 Interior decoration (Black & white) *''

Gaslight Gas lighting is the production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, such as hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, coal gas (town gas) or natural gas. The light is produced either direct ...

'' - 1944 Art direction/Set decoration (Color) *'' Little Women'' - 1949 *''

An American in Paris ''An American in Paris'' is a jazz-influenced orchestral piece by American composer George Gershwin first performed in 1928. It was inspired by the time that Gershwin had spent in Paris and evokes the sights and energy of the French capital ...

'' - 1951 Art direction/Set decoration (Black & white) *''

The Bad and the Beautiful ''The Bad and the Beautiful'' is a 1952 American melodrama that tells the story of a film producer who alienates everyone around him. The film was directed by Vincente Minnelli, written by George Bradshaw and Charles Schnee, and starring Lana T ...

'' - 1952 *''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

'' - 1953 *'' Somebody Up There Likes Me'' - 1956

Academy Award nominations

Interior decoration *''

The Great Ziegfeld ''The Great Ziegfeld'' is a 1936 American musical drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and produced by Hunt Stromberg. It stars William Powell as the theatrical impresario Florenz "Flo" Ziegfeld Jr., Luise Rainer as Anna Held, and ...

'' - 1936 *'' Romeo and Juliet'' - 1936 Interior decoration (Black & white) *'' When Ladies Meet'' - 1941 *''

Random Harvest ''Random Harvest'' is a novel written by James Hilton, first published in 1941. Like previous Hilton works, including '' Lost Horizon'' and '' Goodbye, Mr. Chips'', the novel was immensely popular, placing second on ''Publishers Weekly'' li ...

'' - 1942 *''

Madame Curie Marie Salomea Skłodowska–Curie ( , , ; born Maria Salomea Skłodowska, ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first ...

'' - 1943 *''

The Picture of Dorian Gray ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' is a philosophical novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American periodical '' Lippincott's Monthly Magazine''.''The Picture of Dorian G ...

'' - 1945 Interior decoration (Color) *''

Thousands Cheer ''Thousands Cheer'' is a 1943 American musical comedy film directed by George Sidney and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Produced at the height of the Second World War, the film was intended as a morale booster for American troops and their fam ...

'' - 1943 *'' Kismet'' - 1944 *''

National Velvet ''National Velvet'' is a novel by Enid Bagnold (1889–1981), first published in 1935. It was illustrated by Laurian Jones, Bagnold's daughter, who was born in 1921. Plot summary ''National Velvet'' is the story of a 14-year-old girl named ...

'' - 1945 Art direction/Set decoration (Black & white) *''

Madame Bovary ''Madame Bovary'' (; ), originally published as ''Madame Bovary: Provincial Manners'' ( ), is a novel by French writer Gustave Flaubert, published in 1856. The eponymous character lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities and emp ...

'' - 1949 *''

The Red Danube ''The Red Danube'' is a 1949 American drama film directed by George Sidney and starring Walter Pidgeon. The film is set during Operation Keelhaul and was based on the 1947 novel '' Vespers in Vienna'' by Bruce Marshall. Plot In Rome shortly af ...

'' - 1950 *'' Too Young to Kiss'' - 1951 *''

Executive Suite An executive suite in its most general definition is a collection of offices or rooms—or suite—used by top managers of a business—or executives. Over the years, this general term has taken on a variety of specific meanings. Corporate offi ...

'' - 1954 *''

I'll Cry Tomorrow ''I'll Cry Tomorrow'' (1955) is a biopic that tells the story of Lillian Roth, a Broadway star who rebels against the pressure of her domineering mother and struggles with alcoholism after the death of her fiancé. It stars Susan Hayward, Richard ...

'' - 1955 *''

Blackboard Jungle ''Blackboard Jungle'' is a 1955 American social drama film about an English teacher in an interracial inner-city school, based on the 1954 novel ''The Blackboard Jungle'' by Evan Hunter and adapted for the screen and directed by Richard Brooks. I ...

'' - 1955 Art direction/Set decoration (Color) *'' Annie Get Your Gun'' - 1950 *''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt ...

'' - 1952 *''

Lili ''Lili'' is a 1953 American film released by MGM. It stars Leslie Caron as a touchingly naïve French girl whose emotional relationship with a carnival puppeteer is conducted through the medium of four puppets. The film won the Academy Award for ...

'' - 1953 *''

Young Bess ''Young Bess'' is a 1953 Technicolor biographical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer about the early life of Elizabeth I, from her turbulent childhood to the eve of her accession to the throne of England. It stars Jean Simmons as Elizabeth and Ste ...

'' -1953 *''

The Story of Three Loves ''The Story of Three Loves'' (also known as ''Equilibrium'') is a 1953 American Technicolor romantic anthology film made by MGM. It consists of three stories, "The Jealous Lover", "Mademoiselle", and "Equilibrium". The film was produced by Si ...

'' - 1953 *''

Brigadoon ''Brigadoon'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, and music by Frederick Loewe. The song " Almost Like Being in Love", from the musical, has become a standard. It features two American tourists who stumble upon Brigadoon, ...

'' - 1954 *'' Lust For Life'' - 1956 Art Direction/Set Decoration *'' Les Girls'' - 1957 *'' Raintree County'' - 1957

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Edwin B. 1893 births 1963 deaths Best Art Direction Academy Award winners American scenic designers People from Decatur, Illinois Deaths from cancer in California