---
name: "William J. Creber"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/william-j-creber"
roles: ["Art direction"]
born: "26 July 1931"
died: "7 March 2019"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 70
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-09-20T05:50:11.601715+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."
---

# William J. Creber

Art direction. Born 26 July 1931 in Los Angeles. Died 7 March 2019.

## Details

- **Work:** Art direction
- **Born:** 26 July 1931, Los Angeles
- **Died:** 7 March 2019
- **Active:** 1968–1974
- **Academy Awards:** 3 Oscar nominations
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1960s 84 (1), 1970s 65 (3)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 70 to 67 across 4 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Genres:** Action 3, Science Fiction 3, Adventure 2, Drama 2, Mystery 1, Thriller 1
- **Screen time:** 8 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $180m across 4 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Creber, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8013192, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0187169/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/7512

## Biography

William J. Creber was an American art director and production designer. He was born in Los Angeles on 26 July 1931 and died there on 7 March 2019.

Creber worked extensively with producer Irwin Allen on disaster films and television series including *Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea*, *The Time Tunnel* and *Lost in Space*. He served as art director on the first three *Planet of the Apes* films (1968–1971) and as production designer on *The Poseidon Adventure* (1972) and *The Towering Inferno* (1974). He received three Academy Award nominations for Best Art Direction, for *The Greatest Story Ever Told* (1965), *The Poseidon Adventure* and *The Towering Inferno*.

Creber was the son of art director Lewis Creber. He received an Art Directors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award and was inducted posthumously into the guild’s Hall of Fame.

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

## On Fi1m (4)

- *The Towering Inferno* (1974), Fi1m 68, Production Design, Production design — [page](https://film.one/film/the-towering-inferno.md)
- *Escape from the Planet of the Apes* (1971), Fi1m 77, Art Direction — [page](https://film.one/film/escape-from-the-planet-of-the-apes.md)
- *Beneath the Planet of the Apes* (1970), Fi1m 50, Art Direction — [page](https://film.one/film/beneath-the-planet-of-the-apes.md)
- *Planet of the Apes* (1968), Fi1m 84, Art Direction — [page](https://film.one/film/planet-of-the-apes.md)

## Complete filmography (29)

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

- *Without Limits* (1998), Production Design
- *Spy Hard* (1996), Production Design
- *Street Fighter* (1994), Production Design
- *Christy* (1994), series, Production Designer
- *Folks!* (1992), Production Design
- *Hot Pursuit* (1987), Production Design
- *Flight of the Navigator* (1986), Production Design
- *Children in the Crossfire* (1984), Production Design
- *Yes, Giorgio* (1982), Production Design
- *Six Pack* (1982), Production Design
- *Any Which Way You Can* (1980), Production Design
- *Hopscotch* (1980), Production Design
- *Mr. Horn* (1979), series, Production Design
- *Enigma* (1977), as Art Direction
- *The Domino Principle* (1977), Production Design
- *Islands in the Stream* (1977), Production Design
- *The Towering Inferno* (1974), Production Design — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/film/the-towering-inferno.md)
- *The Poseidon Adventure* (1972), Production Design
- *Justin Morgan Had a Horse* (1972), as Art Direction
- *The Strange Monster of Strawberry Cove* (1971), as Art Direction
- *Escape from the Planet of the Apes* (1971), as Art Direction — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/film/escape-from-the-planet-of-the-apes.md)
- *But I Don't Want to Get Married!* (1970), as Art Direction
- *Beneath the Planet of the Apes* (1970), as Art Direction — Fi1m 50, [page](https://film.one/film/beneath-the-planet-of-the-apes.md)
- *Along Came a Spider* (1970), as Art Direction
- *Justine* (1969), as Art Direction
- *The Detective* (1968), as Art Direction
- *Planet of the Apes* (1968), as Art Direction — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/planet-of-the-apes.md)
- *The Greatest Story Ever Told* (1965), Production Design
- *Rio Conchos* (1964), as Art Direction

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 3 nominated

- 1975: Best Production Design (nominated), for *The Towering Inferno*
- 1973: Best Production Design (nominated), for *The Poseidon Adventure*
- 1966: Best Art Direction, Color (nominated), for *The Greatest Story Ever Told*

*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/william-j-creber