Luthardt, Robert, 1917-1977.

Luthardt was born on Mar. 3, 1917; a native of Chicago, he became a motion picture and television set designer and architect; he trained under French art director Alexander Trauner, and assisted him in the films, The apartment and Irma La Douce; Luthardt was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on The fortune cookie; other credits included Carnal knowledge, The April fools, Hearts of the West, Funny girl, and Lipstick; in addition to being a charter member of the Society of Motion Pictures and Television Art Directors, he also designed restaurants; he died on Oct. 1, 1977.

Biography/History

Robert Luthardt was born on March 3, 1917. A native of Chicago, Luthardt became an art director and production designer for the motion picture and television industries. He trained under French-Hungarian art director Alexander Trauner and assisted him on several Billy Wilder productions, including The Apartment and Irma La Douce . Other credits included Funny Girl, The April Fools, Carnal Knowledge, Hearts of the West, Lipstick, Kiss Me, Stupid and The Cheap Detective . He was nominated for an Oscar at the 1966 Academy Awards for his work on The Fortune Cookie . In addition, Luthardt became the art director for several long-running television shows and was a charter member of the Society of Motion Pictures and Television Art Directors; he also designed several restaurants and interiors, including projects for Billy Wilder. He died on October 1, 1977.