Goodman, John B. (John Bartlett), 1901-1991

The "Revised and concise history of the Vigilance Committee of 1856" was written by Almarin Paul, a '49er pioneer who moved to Sacramento from St. Louis. Established a merchant firm in Sacramento but soon sold his shares to go into mining. He became the first person to mine for silver in Nevada, and is the inventor of the iron process for working silver ores and of some other mining machinery. During his first few years in California, Paul was an active member of the Vigilance Committee of 1856.

A native of Denver, Co., Goodman worked in the motion picture industry in Los Angeles for 47 years, beginning in 1920 with the Famous Players Lasky Co. By the end of his career, he had worked on 252 films and had been employed by Paramount, Warner, and Universal studios while establishing himself as a freelance art director. In 1943, Goodman was awarded an Oscar for his color art direction of "Phantom of the Opera." Goodman retired from the film industry in 1967. Goodman was also an avid bibliophile interested in American maritime history, early sailing ships, and the American west, especially the gold rush era of California. Goodman's major published work includes THE CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH FLEET (1992) and the jointly authored SCRAPS OF CALIFORNIANA series. Unpublished at the time of his death in 1991 is Goodman's two volume ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY HISTORIES 1855-1953.

Biography

John Bartlett Goodman, III, (1901-1991) was born in Denver, Colorado and moved to California by the age of three, first to San Diego and then to Los Angeles in 1916. After high school he worked in an architect's office, but left in 1920 after a short time to join the art department of the Famous Players Lasky Company, an early motion-picture company. Goodman's forty-seven year professional career in the motion-picture industry included work on 252 movies. He spent seventeen years with Paramount Studios, worked for Warner Brothers Studios, and served as supervising art director (1942-1945) for Universal Studio, after which, he pursued a freelance career as an independent art director. Goodman won an Oscar for his color art direction of the "Phantom of the Opera" in 1943. He was the art director for the films "The Mountain" (1955) and "Rawhide" (1959) and the weekly television series "Rawhide" (1961-1965). Goodman retired from film work in 1967.

At the same time he entered the film industry, Goodman began his lifelong avocation as a bibliophile interested in American maritime history, early sailing ships, the American West, and California and the Gold Rush. He was a founding member of the Los Angeles Corral of Westerners (1946) and a member of the Zamorano Club since May 1947. Goodman's major works include THE CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH FLEET (1992), the jointly authored and published SCRAPS OF CALIFORNIANA series, a collection of six Christmas keepsakes for Zamorano Club members, and "An Annotated Bibliography of California County Histories," an extensive unpublished manuscript. Goodman's historical and bibliophilic interests complemented his art direction, especially his passion for historically accurate set designs.

John Goodman died on June 30, 1991.