John J. Lloyd

Production Designer
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The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

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About
About this interview

In his two-and-a-half-hour interview, John J. Lloyd (1922-2014) talks about his early years in motion pictures (including his work on The Quiet Man) and his switch to television production with such notable series as Alfred Hitchcock Presents. For this series, he discusses working with Alfred Hitchcock himself and his experiences on such Hitchcock-directed episodes as "The Crystal Trench" and "Arthur." Lloyd speaks about the craft of the art director in television and the initial impact of color television. He also describes some of his later experiences on the feature films The Day of the Locust and National Lampoon's Animal House. B-roll consists of a few stills from Lloyd's career and an illustration used for the television movie It Happened One Christmas. Gary Rutkowski conducted the interview on August 24, 2004 in Woodland Hills, CA.

All views expressed by interviewees are theirs alone and not necessarily those of the Television Academy.

"A set should never detract from or be a point of attention over the acting, the people, or the story."

People Talking About ...
John J. Lloyd
Highlights
John J. Lloyd on the intros for Alfred Hitchcock Presents
01:30
John J. Lloyd on the lifted stairs on The Munsters
00:49
John J. Lloyd on designing for the TV movie It Happened One Christmas
02:28
John J. Lloyd on designing for the film "Animal House"
02:28
John J. Lloyd > on his association with the Society of Motion Picture & Television Art Directors
02:07
Full Interview

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Chapter 1
On his childhood and early influences; on his uncle, head of the art department at MGM in the 1930s; on visiting MGM sets as a kid and his talent for drawing
On his first job in the motion picture business - for Republic; on working on the film "The Quiet Man"; on working with John Wayne; on the path to becoming an art director; on what he learned from working on movies
On his early memories of television; on working for Warner Bros. and MCA; on the MCA art department and his typical work-week in early television 
On how he received assignments and the turnover for building sets; on quick fixes on sets and materials he used for building
On his first assignment in television - Alfred Hitchcock Presents; on working for Martin Obzina

Chapter 2
On Martin Obzina, contd.; on his start on Alfred Hitchcock Presents  and working with Alfred Hitchcock; on research for the show
On the intros for Alfred Hitchcock Presents; on Alfred Hitchcock's personality; on working with directors and other staff members
On memorable episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents  and working with set decorators

Chapter 3
On working with the cinematographers and cameramen on Alfred Hitchcock Presents; on the studio where the show shot; on being nominated for an Emmy; on the prestige associated with the show
On Alfred Hitchcock's talent for one-liners on Alfred Hitchcock Presents; on location shoots and leaving the show
On working on several anthology series; on working with directors Stuart Rosenberg and Buzz Kulik
On his recollections of the Hollywood Blacklist; on his work on Thriller, Checkmate, and It's A Man's World
On his work on The Jack Benny Program; on guest stars on the show; on designing for The Munsters

Chapter 4
On the lifted stairs on The Munsters; on the design of the house and the set being a part of the Universal Studios tour
On how color television affected art direction; on materials he used as an art director
On designing for Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law, The Bold Ones, and McMillan & Wife; on establishing the look of Emergency!, Columbo, and Kojak
On his philosophy for selecting color; on designing for the TV movies Vanished, Fear on Trial, and It Happened One Christmas
On designing for the feature film "Day of the Locust"

Chapter 5
On designing for the film "Day of the Locust" contd.; on designing for the films "Animal House," "The Blues Brothers," "Thing," >"Big Trouble In Little China,">"Crackers," >"Clue,"> and the first two films in "The Naked Gun" franchise>
On his production design style; on how he adds realism to his designs; on working with Lew Wasserman>
On advice to aspiring art directors; on fellow art director John Robert Lloyd; on why he retired; >on his association with the Society of Motion Picture & Television Art Directors; >on his proudest career achievement and how >he'd like to be remembered>
Shows

Alfred Hitchcock Presents aka The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

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John J. Lloyd on his first assignment in television - Alfred Hitchcock Presents
01:44
John J. Lloyd on his start as an assistant and becoming Art Director on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
02:16
John J. Lloyd on his working relationship with Alfred Hitchcock on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
00:40
John J. Lloyd on his budget and sometimes going over budget on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
06:32
John J. Lloyd on his Alfred Hitchcock's attitude toward art direction on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
01:16
John J. Lloyd on his research for Alfred Hitchcock Presents
01:06
John J. Lloyd on how Alfred Hitchcock expressed his views about art direction on Alfred Hitchcock Presents; on how Hitchcock directed episodes
02:25
John J. Lloyd on the intros for Alfred Hitchcock Presents
01:30
John J. Lloyd on Alfred Hitchcock's personality on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
00:52
John J. Lloyd on speaking about art direction with the directors on Alfred Hitchcock Presents; on working with Joan Harrison and Norman Lloyd
01:56
John J. Lloyd on working with the staff on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
01:29
John J. Lloyd on memorable episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents  - "The Glass Eye"
01:00
John J. Lloyd on memorable episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents  - "An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge," "Dip In The Pool," "The Crystal Trench," "One More Mile To Go" and "Who Killed The Count?"
04:32
John J. Lloyd on the set decorators on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
02:31
John J. Lloyd on working with the cinematographers and cameramen on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
04:13
John J. Lloyd on the studio where Alfred Hitchcock Presents  shot
00:46
John J. Lloyd on being nominated for an Emmy for Alfred Hitchcock Presents
00:55
John J. Lloyd on the prestige of Alfred Hitchcock Presents
02:19
John J. Lloyd on Alfred Hitchcock's talent for one-liners on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
00:19
John J. Lloyd on location shoots on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
00:36
John J. Lloyd on his tenure on Alfred Hitchcock Presents  - only the half-hour shows
00:33

Bob Hope Presents Chrysler Theatre

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John J. Lloyd on differences between several of the popular anthology series; on people he worked with on the shows
04:32

Bold Ones, The

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John J. Lloyd on designing for Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law, and The Bold Ones
01:36

Checkmate

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John J. Lloyd on working on Checkmate  with Boris Karloff (and not being a fan of the program)
01:13

Columbo

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John J. Lloyd on establishing the look for Columbo
00:22

Emergency!

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John J. Lloyd on establishing the look for Emergency!
03:39

Emmy Awards, The (Primetime and Daytime)

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John J. Lloyd on being nominated for an Emmy for Alfred Hitchcock Presents
00:55

Fear on Trial

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John J. Lloyd on designing for the TV movie Fear on Trial
02:52

General Electric Theater, The

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John J. Lloyd on differences between several of the popular anthology series; on people he worked with on the shows
04:32

Hanged Man, The

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John J. Lloyd on the TV movie The Hanged Man  with Don Siegel
00:43

It Happened One Christmas

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John J. Lloyd on designing for the TV movie It Happened One Christmas
02:28

It's A Man's World

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John J. Lloyd on working on It's A Man's World  
01:15

Jack Benny Program, The

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John J. Lloyd on how he started working on The Jack Benny Program; on working with Jack Benny
03:08

Kojak

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John J. Lloyd on establishing the look for Kojak
02:33

McMillan & Wife

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John J. Lloyd on establishing the look for McMillan & Wife
01:19

Munsters, The

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John J. Lloyd on how he started working on The Munsters; on designing for the sets on the TV show and the feature film of The Munsters
03:41
John J. Lloyd on the low lighting on The Munsters
01:40
John J. Lloyd on the lifted stairs on The Munsters
00:49
John J. Lloyd on the design on the house on The Munsters
01:04
John J. Lloyd on the set of The Munsters being a part of the Universal Studios tour
01:08

Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law

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John J. Lloyd on designing for Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law, and The Bold Ones
01:36

Thriller

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John J. Lloyd on working on Thriller with Boris Karloff
00:33
Topics

Advice

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John J. Lloyd>  on advice to aspiring art directors>
02:11

Classic TV series episodes

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John J. Lloyd on memorable episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents  - "The Glass Eye"
01:00

Franklin D. Roosevelt

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John J. Lloyd on his admiration for FDR
01:14

Hollywood Blacklist

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John J. Lloyd on his recollections of the Hollywood Blacklist
02:00

Industry Crossroads

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John J. Lloyd on his recollections of the Hollywood Blacklist
02:00

Pop Culture

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John J. Lloyd on memorable episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents  - "The Glass Eye"
01:00

Technological Innovation

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John J. Lloyd on how color television affected art direction 
03:03
John J. Lloyd on changes in technology that affected the materials he used
00:42

Television Industry

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John J. Lloyd on his recollections of the Hollywood Blacklist
02:00
John J. Lloyd>  on advice to aspiring art directors>
02:11

Television and the Presidency

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John J. Lloyd on his admiration for FDR
01:14
Professions

Art Director/Set Decorator

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John J. Lloyd on the path to becoming an art director 
01:24
John J. Lloyd on his typical work-week in early television 
00:25
John J. Lloyd on his start as an assistant and becoming Art Director on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
02:16
John J. Lloyd on how color television affected art direction 
03:03
John J. Lloyd on materials he used as an art director
02:56
John J. Lloyd on how he selects color
01:13
John J. Lloyd>  on advice to aspiring art directors
02:11
John J. Lloyd > on his association with the Society of Motion Picture & Television Art Directors
02:07

Designers

View Profession
John J. Lloyd on the path to becoming an art director 
01:24
John J. Lloyd on his typical work-week in early television 
00:25
John J. Lloyd on his start as an assistant and becoming Art Director on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
02:16
John J. Lloyd on how color television affected art direction 
03:03
John J. Lloyd on materials he used as an art director
02:56
John J. Lloyd on how he selects color
01:13
John J. Lloyd on his production design style
01:41
John J. Lloyd>  on advice to aspiring art directors
02:11
John J. Lloyd on his association with the Society of Motion Picture & Television Art Directors
02:07

Production Designer

View Profession
John J. Lloyd on his production design style
01:26
Genres

Classic Anthology Series

View Genre
John J. Lloyd on his start as Art Director on Alfred Hitchcock Presents  and working on memorable episodes
29:18
John J. Lloyd on differences between several of the popular anthology series; on people he worked with on the shows
05:29
John J. Lloyd on Aconcluding his work on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
10:31

Comedy Series

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John J. Lloyd on designing for the sets on the TV show and the feature film of The Munsters
05:21
John J. Lloyd on designing for The Munsters
03:01
People

Alfred Hitchcock

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John J. Lloyd on his start as an assistant and becoming Art Director on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
00:40
John J. Lloyd on his budget and sometimes going over budget on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
06:32
John J. Lloyd on Alfred Hitchcock's attitude toward art direction on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
01:16
John J. Lloyd on how Alfred Hitchcock expressed his views about art direction on Alfred Hitchcock Presents; on how Hitchcock directed episodes
02:25
John J. Lloyd on Alfred Hitchcock's personality 
00:52
John J. Lloyd on Alfred Hitchcock's visual talent 
02:14
John J. Lloyd on Alfred Hitchcock's using Alfred Hitchcock Presents  staff for "Psycho"
00:26
John J. Lloyd on Alfred Hitchcock's talent for one-liners on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
00:19

Boris Karloff

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John J. Lloyd on working on Thriller  with Boris Karloff
00:33

Buzz Kulik

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John J. Lloyd on working with director Buzz Kulik
00:33

David Butler

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John J. Lloyd on the set decorators on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
02:31

Don Siegel

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John J. Lloyd on the TV movie The Hanged Man  with Don Siegel
00:43

Jack Benny

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John J. Lloyd on working with Jack Benny on The Jack Benny Program
00:33

Jack Webb

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John J. Lloyd on Jack Webb as the producer on Emergency!   
01:54

James Redd

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John J. Lloyd on the set decorators on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
01:53

Joan Harrison

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John J. Lloyd on Joan Harrison 
00:24

John Wayne

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John J. Lloyd on working with John Wayne
00:52

Lew Wasserman

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John J. Lloyd>  on working with Lew Wasserman>
02:15

Martin Obzina

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John J. Lloyd on working for Martin Obzina
01:16
John J. Lloyd on working for Martin Obzina, contd.
01:11

Norman Lloyd

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John J. Lloyd on working with Norman Lloyd
00:44

Pat Hitchcock

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John J. Lloyd on Alfred Hitchcock's daughter, Pat Hitchcock
00:12

Paul Henreid

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John J. Lloyd on working with the staff on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
01:11

Stuart Rosenberg

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John J. Lloyd on working with director Stuart Rosenberg
01:42

William Frye

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John J. Lloyd on working with producer William Frye
00:23

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