Raphaël Bretton (7 February 1920 – 20 February 2011) was a French

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 ...

. He won an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

and was nominated for three more in the category Best Art Direction.

Biography

He was born Raphaël Gaston Beugnon in Paris, France. During World War II he fled to England, and in 1943 was recruited into the

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...

(SOE). His evaluations during training where not promising. His instructors considered him "soft", "petulant" and "prone to bouts of childish temper". He was eventually transferred to the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and commissioned into the

United States Naval Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Se ...

with the rank of lieutenant. In April 1944, Beugnon and two other agents were parachuted into northern France. Their mission, codenamed "Beggar", recruited more than 90 agents to operate in the

Oise Oise ( ; ; pcd, Oése) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,41 ...

department, north-west of Paris. Prior to the

D-Day landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

they carried out sabotage attacks on German railway traffic and communications lines. Later, as Allied troops approached Paris, they discovered a large force of German tanks hidden in woodlands and called in air strikes to destroy them. Beugnon was subsequently awarded the French '' Croix de Guerre'' and the American

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

. His citation read in part:

He displayed much ingenuity and daring, as when, on one occasion, he recovered an unexploded aerial bomb, transported it to a bridge, and used the explosive for partially demolishing that target. Beugnon's intrepid actions, personal bravery and zealous devotion to duty exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States.

Post-war he was sent to Hollywood to act as a technical advisor to the makers of the film '' O.S.S.'', starring Alan Ladd. He decided to stay in the United States, adopted the name Raphael Bretton, and worked as a set designer in films and television. Bretton died in

Green Valley, Arizona Green Valley is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Pima County, Arizona, United States. The population was 22,616 at the 2020 census. Geography Green Valley is located along the western side of the Santa Cruz ...

, on 20 February 2011.

Selected filmography

Bretton won an Academy Award for Best Art Direction and was nominated for three more: ;Won * '' Hello, Dolly!'' (1969) ;Nominated * '' Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte'' (1964) * '' The Poseidon Adventure'' (1972) * ''

The Towering Inferno ''The Towering Inferno'' is a 1974 American disaster film directed by John Guillermin and produced by Irwin Allen, featuring an ensemble cast led by Paul Newman and Steve McQueen. It was adapted by Stirling Silliphant from the novels '' The Towe ...

'' (1974)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bretton, Raphael 1920 births 2011 deaths French set decorators Best Art Direction Academy Award winners Film people from Paris French expatriates in the United Kingdom French Special Operations Executive personnel People of the Office of Strategic Services Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States)