Ken Adam (born 5 February, 1921 as Klaus Adam) is a production designer most famous for his set designs for the early James Bond films.

Life

Ken Adam was born in Berlin, Germany. His family moved to England in 1934, when Adam was 12 years old. Later, he attended London University training to be an architect. Although he was still a German national, he served as a pilot for the RAF during World War II. This was a brave move: if he had been shot down and captured, instead of being sent to a prisoner of war camp, the Germans would have been able to hang him as a traitor. Adam was the only German national to be an RAF fighter pilot. He was later naturalised as a British citizen and was knighted in 2003 by Queen Elizabeth II.

Films

Adam first entered the film industry as a draughtsman for This Was a Woman (1948). He designed numerous famous sets for James Bond films such as Goldfinger, Thunderball and Diamonds Are Forever. In 1963 he worked with Stanley Kubrick on Dr. Strangelove which centres around the impressive "war room" set. He also designed the famous car for the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Awards

• 1965 - British Film Academy Award
• 1964 - British Film Academy Award
• 1975 - Academy Award for Best Art Direction for his recreation of 18th century England in Barry Lyndon.
• 1994 - Academy Award for Best Art Direction for work on The Madness of King George.

References

• IMDb database
• British Film Institute
• Hollywood.com
• Ken Adam interview