About
"A set should never detract from or be a point of attention over the acting, the people, or the story."
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.
Highlights
John J. Lloyd on the intros for Alfred Hitchcock Presents
John J. Lloyd on the lifted stairs on The Munsters
John J. Lloyd on designing for the TV movie It Happened One Christmas
John J. Lloyd on designing for the film "Animal House"
John J. Lloyd > on his association with the Society of Motion Picture & Television Art Directors
Full Interview
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
John J. Lloyd on his first assignment in television - Alfred Hitchcock Presents
John J. Lloyd on his start as an assistant and becoming Art Director on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
John J. Lloyd on his working relationship with Alfred Hitchcock on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
John J. Lloyd on his budget and sometimes going over budget on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
John J. Lloyd on his Alfred Hitchcock's attitude toward art direction on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
John J. Lloyd on his research for Alfred Hitchcock Presents
John J. Lloyd on how Alfred Hitchcock expressed his views about art direction on Alfred Hitchcock Presents; on how Hitchcock directed episodes
John J. Lloyd on the intros for Alfred Hitchcock Presents
John J. Lloyd on Alfred Hitchcock's personality on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
John J. Lloyd on speaking about art direction with the directors on Alfred Hitchcock Presents; on working with Joan Harrison and Norman Lloyd
John J. Lloyd on working with the staff on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
John J. Lloyd on memorable episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents - "The Glass Eye"
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?"
John J. Lloyd on the set decorators on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
John J. Lloyd on working with the cinematographers and cameramen on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
John J. Lloyd on the studio where Alfred Hitchcock Presents shot
John J. Lloyd on being nominated for an Emmy for Alfred Hitchcock Presents
John J. Lloyd on the prestige of Alfred Hitchcock Presents
John J. Lloyd on Alfred Hitchcock's talent for one-liners on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
John J. Lloyd on location shoots on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
John J. Lloyd on his tenure on Alfred Hitchcock Presents - only the half-hour shows
Bob Hope Presents Chrysler Theatre
John J. Lloyd on differences between several of the popular anthology series; on people he worked with on the shows
Bold Ones, The
John J. Lloyd on designing for Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law, and The Bold Ones
Checkmate
John J. Lloyd on working on Checkmate with Boris Karloff (and not being a fan of the program)
Columbo
John J. Lloyd on establishing the look for Columbo
Emergency!
John J. Lloyd on establishing the look for Emergency!
Emmy Awards, The (Primetime and Daytime)
John J. Lloyd on being nominated for an Emmy for Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Fear on Trial
John J. Lloyd on designing for the TV movie Fear on Trial
General Electric Theater, The
John J. Lloyd on differences between several of the popular anthology series; on people he worked with on the shows
Hanged Man, The
John J. Lloyd on the TV movie The Hanged Man with Don Siegel
It Happened One Christmas
John J. Lloyd on designing for the TV movie It Happened One Christmas
It's A Man's World
John J. Lloyd on working on It's A Man's World
Jack Benny Program, The
John J. Lloyd on how he started working on The Jack Benny Program; on working with Jack Benny
Kojak
John J. Lloyd on establishing the look for Kojak
McMillan & Wife
John J. Lloyd on establishing the look for McMillan & Wife
Munsters, The
John J. Lloyd on the lifted stairs on The Munsters
John J. Lloyd on the design on the house on The Munsters
John J. Lloyd on the set of The Munsters being a part of the Universal Studios tour
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
John J. Lloyd on the low lighting on The Munsters
Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law
John J. Lloyd on designing for Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law, and The Bold Ones
Thriller
John J. Lloyd on working on Thriller with Boris Karloff
Topics
Advice
John J. Lloyd> on advice to aspiring art directors>
Classic TV Series Episodes
John J. Lloyd on memorable episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents - "The Glass Eye"
Franklin D. Roosevelt
John J. Lloyd on his admiration for FDR
Hollywood Blacklist
John J. Lloyd on his recollections of the Hollywood Blacklist
Industry Crossroads
John J. Lloyd on his recollections of the Hollywood Blacklist
Pop Culture
John J. Lloyd on memorable episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents - "The Glass Eye"
Technological Innovation
John J. Lloyd on how color television affected art direction
John J. Lloyd on changes in technology that affected the materials he used
Television and the Presidency
John J. Lloyd on his admiration for FDR
Television Industry
John J. Lloyd> on advice to aspiring art directors>
John J. Lloyd on his recollections of the Hollywood Blacklist
Professions
Art Director/Set Decorator
John J. Lloyd on the path to becoming an art director
John J. Lloyd on his typical work-week in early television
John J. Lloyd on his start as an assistant and becoming Art Director on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
John J. Lloyd on how color television affected art direction
John J. Lloyd on materials he used as an art director
John J. Lloyd on how he selects color
John J. Lloyd> on advice to aspiring art directors
John J. Lloyd > on his association with the Society of Motion Picture & Television Art Directors
Designers
John J. Lloyd on the path to becoming an art director
John J. Lloyd on his typical work-week in early television
John J. Lloyd on his start as an assistant and becoming Art Director on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
John J. Lloyd on how color television affected art direction
John J. Lloyd on materials he used as an art director
John J. Lloyd on how he selects color
John J. Lloyd on his production design style
John J. Lloyd> on advice to aspiring art directors
John J. Lloyd on his association with the Society of Motion Picture & Television Art Directors
Production Designer
John J. Lloyd on his production design style
Genres
Classic Anthology Series
John J. Lloyd on his start as Art Director on Alfred Hitchcock Presents and working on memorable episodes
John J. Lloyd on differences between several of the popular anthology series; on people he worked with on the shows
John J. Lloyd on Aconcluding his work on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Comedy Series
John J. Lloyd on designing for The Munsters
John J. Lloyd on designing for the sets on the TV show and the feature film of The Munsters
People
Jack Benny
John J. Lloyd on working with Jack Benny on The Jack Benny Program
David Butler
John J. Lloyd on the set decorators on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
William Frye
John J. Lloyd on working with producer William Frye
Joan Harrison
John J. Lloyd on Joan Harrison
Paul Henreid
John J. Lloyd on working with the staff on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock
John J. Lloyd on his start as an assistant and becoming Art Director on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
John J. Lloyd on his budget and sometimes going over budget on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
John J. Lloyd on Alfred Hitchcock's attitude toward art direction on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
John J. Lloyd on how Alfred Hitchcock expressed his views about art direction on Alfred Hitchcock Presents; on how Hitchcock directed episodes
John J. Lloyd on Alfred Hitchcock's personality
John J. Lloyd on Alfred Hitchcock's visual talent
John J. Lloyd on Alfred Hitchcock's using Alfred Hitchcock Presents staff for "Psycho"
John J. Lloyd on Alfred Hitchcock's talent for one-liners on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Pat Hitchcock
John J. Lloyd on Alfred Hitchcock's daughter, Pat Hitchcock
Boris Karloff
John J. Lloyd on working on Thriller with Boris Karloff
Buzz Kulik
John J. Lloyd on working with director Buzz Kulik
Norman Lloyd
John J. Lloyd on working with Norman Lloyd
Martin Obzina
John J. Lloyd on working for Martin Obzina
John J. Lloyd on working for Martin Obzina, contd.
James Redd
John J. Lloyd on the set decorators on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Stuart Rosenberg
John J. Lloyd on working with director Stuart Rosenberg
Don Siegel
John J. Lloyd on the TV movie The Hanged Man with Don Siegel
Lew Wasserman
John J. Lloyd> on working with Lew Wasserman>
John Wayne
John J. Lloyd on working with John Wayne
Jack Webb
John J. Lloyd on Jack Webb as the producer on Emergency!