Biography
Harold Michelson (15 February 1920 – 1 March 2007) was an American production designer, art director, illustrator and storyboard artist. Born in New York City, he studied briefly at the Pratt Institute and New York University, served as a bombardier-navigator in the US Army Air Forces during the Second World War, and trained further at the Art Students League of New York. He moved to Los Angeles in 1947 and began working on illustrations and storyboards for films.
Michelson served as production designer on Johnny Got His Gun (1971), Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) and History of the World: Part I (1981). He worked as art director on Terms of Endearment (1983), Spaceballs (1987), Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) and Dick Tracy (1990), among other films. He received Academy Award nominations for best art direction for Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Terms of Endearment.
In 1999 he was awarded the Art Directors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award. He was married to film researcher Lillian Michelson from 1947 until his death.
