---
name: "Ward Preston"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/ward-preston"
fi1m_id: "ward-preston"
imdb_id: "nm0696509"
tmdb_id: 14433
wikidata_id: "Q7969065"
roles: ["Production designer"]
born: "20 April 1932"
died: "17 January 2016"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 76
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-10-04T18:34:21.667672+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Ward Preston

## Identity

Ward Preston

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/ward-preston
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** ward-preston
- **IMDb ID:** nm0696509
- **TMDB ID:** 14433
- **Wikidata ID:** Q7969065
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ward_Preston, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7969065, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0696509/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/14433

Production designer. Born 20 April 1932 in Torrance, California, USA. Died 17 January 2016.

## Details

- **Work:** Production designer
- **Born:** 20 April 1932, Torrance, California, USA
- **Died:** 17 January 2016
- **Active:** 1974–1984
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1970s 68 (1), 1980s 80 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 76 to 69 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 2, Action 1, Comedy 1, Music 1, Romance 1, Thriller 1
- **Screen time:** 6 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $268m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ward_Preston, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7969065, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0696509/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/14433

## Streaming the US now

- **Hulu:** [*Airplane!*](https://film.one/film/airplane.md) (89)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Ward Preston was an American production designer and art director. Born William Ward Preston on 20 April 1932 in Torrance, California, he graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in architecture and ran his own firm in Tarzana before entering the film industry in 1965 as a set designer at Warner Bros.

He is known for his production design on *Airplane!* (1980) and *Purple Rain* (1984), and for his art direction on *The Towering Inferno* (1974), for which he shared an Academy Award nomination. Earlier credits include assistant art director on *The Poseidon Adventure* (1972). Preston died on 17 January 2016 in West Hills, California.

*Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org.*

## On Fi1m (3)

- *Purple Rain* (1984), Fi1m 72, Production Design, Production design — [page](https://film.one/film/purple-rain.md)
- *Airplane!* (1980), Fi1m 89, Production Design, Production design — [page](https://film.one/film/airplane.md)
- *The Towering Inferno* (1974), Fi1m 68, Art Direction — [page](https://film.one/film/the-towering-inferno.md)

## Complete filmography (34)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Blessed Assurance* (1997), as Art Direction
- *Staying Afloat* (1993), Production Design
- *Mission of the Shark: The Saga of the U.S.S. Indianapolis* (1991), Production Design
- *UHF* (1989), Production Design
- *The Alamo: Thirteen Days to Glory* (1987), Production Design
- *American Anthem* (1986), Production Design
- *The Twilight Zone* (1985), series, as Art Direction
- *Purple Rain* (1984), Production Design — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/film/purple-rain.md)
- *That Championship Season* (1982), Production Design
- *Soggy Bottom, U.S.A.* (1981), Production Design
- *The Ghosts of Buxley Hall* (1980), Production Design, Art Direction
- *The Night the City Screamed* (1980), Production Design
- *Airplane!* (1980), Production Design — Fi1m 89, [page](https://film.one/film/airplane.md)
- *Power* (1980), series, as Art Direction
- *Steel* (1979), Production Design
- *Ike* (1979), series, as Art Direction
- *Ike* (1979), as Art Direction
- *To Kill a Cop* (1978), series, as Art Direction
- *To Kill a Cop* (1978), as Art Direction
- *Viva Knievel!* (1977), Production Design
- *Fire!* (1977), as Art Direction
- *Capone* (1975), as Art Direction
- *The Towering Inferno* (1974), as Art Direction — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/film/the-towering-inferno.md)
- *The Stone Killer* (1973), as Art Direction
- *The Poseidon Adventure* (1972), Assistant Art Director
- *The Other* (1972), Assistant Art Director
- *Monte Walsh* (1970), as Art Direction
- *The Good Guys and the Bad Guys* (1969), Set Designer
- *Wait Until Dark* (1967), Set Designer
- *Camelot* (1967), Set Designer
- *Gambit* (1966), Set Designer
- *Any Wednesday* (1966), Set Designer
- *A Fine Madness* (1966), Set Designer
- *A Big Hand for the Little Lady* (1966), Set Designer

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 1975: Best Production Design (nominated), for *The Towering Inferno*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/ward-preston