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Klaus
Hugo 'Ken / Heinie' Adam Berlin-born
Sir Kenneth Adam, KB, OBE, arrived in England from Nazi Germany in 1934 when he
was 12 years old. After leaving school he studied architecture at University
College, London, and the Bartlett School of Architecture, before joining the
Royal Air Force as a fighter pilot in 1941. He and his brother Dennis were the
first German-born pilots in the RAF, Dennis joining No. 183 Squadron in 1944, as
part of the same Wing (No. 123) that his elder brother was flying in with No.
609 (West Riding) Squadron. "I
finished training and joined 609 Squadron on 1st October 1943, stationed at
Lympne. In the meantime I had changed my Christian name from Klaus Hugo to Ken
Adam, but everyone usually called me Heinie! I went straight on to Typhoons. Our
job was basically to escort American bombers. On my first operation, I nearly
ran out of fuel because my Typhoon wasn't fitted with long-range tanks. We were
flying medium-level escort over France, and my engine had cut on main tanks, so
I switched over to reserve, but I thought I had better call up the CO. He gave
me a terrible bollocking: ' Reduce your revs and try to glide back to England'.
Then as I was turning, I saw planes being attacked right and left of me. There
were no enemy aircraft around, but there was a high-level escort of American
fighters who had never seen a Typhoon, and they thought we were Focke-Wulf
190's, and so they just took a dive at us. And our squadron commander (S/Ldr
Patric Glynn Thornton-Brown DFC) was shot down, along with a couple of others,
and an American pilot in 609, a famous ice hockey player, Artie Ross, was also
hit, though he managed to get back and force land somewhere on a beach. Then
they sent Artie Ross to all the American fighter stations to show them a
Typhoon, and I believe some pilots were later court-martialled. It was a
terrible thing to happen, especially on your first operation." Adam was to
typically sport an RAF moustache, though rather than growing it as an attempt to
look older, as many did, it was instead to help disguise his 'Jewishness' in
case of capture by German troops. Postwar,
Adam has become one of the most highly regarded and influential film set
designers internationally and has been nominated for Oscars for art direction
five times, winning two, with 'Barry Lyndon' and 'The Madness of King George'. In
1947, Adam entered the British film industry making set drawings for 'This Was a
Woman'. He rose rapidly from draughtsman to art director, having been assistant
art director on 'The Queen of Spades', 'The Hidden Room', 'Your Witness',
'Captain Horatio Hornblower', 'The Crimson Pirate', and 'Helen of Troy', before
becoming full art director for the European-based sequences of Mike Todd's
'Around the World in 80 Days', for which he earned his first Academy Award
nomination for the winner of Best Picture for 1956. In 1962, Adam began work on
Dr. No, the first in the series of James Bond films. From low-budget at the
beginning to more lavish allowances during the 1970's, Adam was able to give
greater rein to his creativity. Influenced by his studies in architecture,
Adam's designs have resulted in some of the best-styled sets of modern cinema,
including the acclaimed war room from Dr Strangelove, and, along with the cars
used in the James Bond films, the all-time classic 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'.
His 1964 design of the vaults at Fort Knox in 'Goldfinger' came from his own
imagination - access having been denied to him. So convincing was the design
that it was commonly believed that the sequences had been shot on location. In
1999 Adam designed the interior of Berlins millennium exhibition pavilion, and
the Queens Birthday Honours list for 2003 included the following: Diplomatic
Services - Knight Bachelor - Kenneth Hugo Adam, OBE, for services to the film
industry and Anglo-German relations. Filmography 2001
Stanley Kubrick: A Life In Pictures 1999
The Out-of-Towners - Production Designer 1997
In & Out - Production Designer 1996
Bogus - Production Designer 1995
Boys on the Side - Production Designer 1994
The Madness of King George - Production Designer 1993
Undercover Blues - Production Designer 1993
Addams Family Values - Production Designer 1991
Company Business - Production
Designer 1991
The Doctor - Production Designer 1990
The Freshman - Production Designer 1989
Dead Bang - Production Designer 1988
The Deceivers - Production Designer 1986
Crimes of the Heart - Production Designer 1985
King David - Production Designer 1985
Agnes of God - Production Designer 1981
Pennies from Heaven - Associate Producer, Production Designer 1979
Moonraker - Production Designer 1977
The Spy Who Loved Me - Production Designer 1976
The Seven-Percent Solution - Production Designer 1975
Barry Lyndon - Production Designer 1975
Salon Kitty - Production Designer 1973
The Last of Sheila - Production Designer 1972
Sleuth - Production Designer 1971
Diamonds Are Forever - Production Designer 1970
The Owl and the Pussycat - Production Designer 1969
Goodbye, Mr. Chips - Production Designer 1968
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - Production Designer 1967
You Only Live Twice - Production Designer 1966
Funeral in Berlin - Production Designer 1965
Thunderball - Production Designer 1965
The Ipcress File - Production Designer 1964
Goldfinger - Production Designer 1964
Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb -
Production Designer 1964
Woman of Straw - Production Designer 1963
In the Cool of the Day - Production Designer 1962
Dr. No - Production Designer 1962
Sodom and Gomorrah - Production Designer 1960
The Trials of Oscar Wilde - Production Designer 1959
Ten Seconds to Hell - Art Director 1959
The Angry Hills - Production Designer 1959
Portrait of a Sinner - Art Director 1959
Ben Hur 1958
Gideon of Scotland Yard - Art Director 1957
Curse of the Demon - Production Designer, Set Designer 1956
Spin a Dark Web - Art Director 1956
Around the World in 80 Days - Production Designer 1947
Prairie Express - Character played: Pete 1947
Flashing Guns - Character played: Dishpan Best
Art Direction: The Madness of King George, Won Academy Award - 1993 Best
Art Direction: Addams Family Values, Nominated Academy Award - 1977 Best
Art Direction: The Spy Who Loved Me, Nominated Academy Award - 1975 Best
Art Direction: Barry Lyndon, Won British Academy Awards - 1965 Best
Art Direction of a Color British Film: The Ipcress File, Won |
Copyright © 2002 609 (West Riding)
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