Bill Gold
Bill Gold | |
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Born |
New York City, New York, U.S. | January 3, 1921
Other names | William Gold |
Alma mater | Pratt Institute |
Occupation | Graphic designer, film poster artist |
Years active | 1941–2011 |
Bill Gold (born January 3, 1921) is an American former graphic designer best known for thousands of film poster designs.[1]
His first film poster was for Yankee Doodle Dandy (1941), and his most recent work was for J. Edgar (2011).
During his 70-year career he has worked with some of Hollywood's greatest filmmakers, including Laurence Olivier, Clint Eastwood, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Elia Kazan, Ridley Scott, and many more. Among his most famous film posters are those for Casablanca, A Clockwork Orange, and Alien.
Early career
Bill Gold was born on January 3, 1921, in New York City. He studied illustration and design at Pratt Institute in New York.[2] He began his professional design career in 1941, in the advertising department of Warner Bros.. Bill Gold became head of poster design in 1947. In 1959 his brother Charlie joined him in the business and they formed BG Charles to do the film trailers. Charlie operated BG Charles in Los Angeles, while Bill operated in New York City. In 1987 Charlie left the business and retired to Vermont. Charlie Gold died on December 25, 2003 at the age of 75. Bill Gold lives in Greenwich, CT.
Bill Gold Advertising
In 1962, Bill Gold created Bill Gold Advertising in New York City. In 1997 Bill moved the company to Stamford, Connecticut and continued his business, producing posters for every film Clint Eastwood produced, directed, and/or acted in, among others. In 1994 Bill was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from The Hollywood Reporter. Richard Benjamin was the MC for the ceremony at the Directors Guild, and Clint Eastwood presented the award to Bill Gold on behalf of The Hollywood Reporter. In 2011, Bill ended an unsuccessful retirement when he agreed to create posters for Clint Eastwood's film, J. Edgar.
Bill Gold is currently an active member of the Society of Illustrators, the Art Directors Club and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. A limited-edition, oversized one-volume retrospective [3] was published in January, 2011 in coordination with Gold's 90th birthday.
Film posters
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bill Gold. |
After his first film project, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Gold collaborated with the American film industry's top film directors and film producers. Especially fruitful was Gold's relationship with the illustrator Bob Peak. Gold's work has spanned eight decades and has inspired numerous other designers.
1940s
- Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
- Casablanca (1942)
- Night and Day (1946)
- The Big Sleep (1946)
- Escape Me Never (1947)
- Winter Meeting (1948)
1950s
- Strangers on a Train (1951)
- A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
- Dial M for Murder (1954)
- The Silver Chalice (1954)
- East of Eden (1955)
- Mister Roberts (1955)
- Baby Doll (1955)
- Giant (1956)
- Lone Ranger (1956)
- Moby Dick (1956)
- The Searchers (1956)
- The Wrong Man (1956)
- A Face in the Crowd (1957)
- The James Dean Story (1957)
- The Pajama Game (1957)
- The Prince and the Showgirl (1957)
- Top Secret Affair (1957)
- The Old Man and the Sea (1958)
1960s
- Splendor in the Grass (1961)
- Gypsy (1962)
- The Music Man (1962)
- My Fair Lady (1964)
- Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964)
- Sex and the Single Girl (1964)
- The Great Race (1965)
- Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
- Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
- Camelot (1967)
- Cool Hand Luke (1967)
- The Fox (1967)
- Wait Until Dark (1967)
- Bullitt (1968)
- Funny Girl (1968)
- A Dream of Kings (1969)
- The Illustrated Man (1969)
1970s
1980s
1990s
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2000s
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2010s
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Collaborating directors
Collaborating producers
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Best Picture Winners
- Casablanca (1942)
- My Fair Lady (1964)
- The Sting (1973)
- Ordinary People (1980)
- Platoon (1986)
- Unforgiven (1992)
References
- ↑ Murphy, Mekado (December 3, 2010). "Poster Master With a Cool Hand". The New York Times.
- ↑ "About Bill". go4thegolds. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
- ↑ Gold, Bill; Nourmand, Tony; Frayling, Christopher. Bill Gold: Posterworks. Reel Art Press. ISBN 9780956648716. OCLC 698587150. See also "Bill Gold". ReelArt Press. Archived from the original on 21 October 2010. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
Further reading
- Block, Alex Ben (May 16, 2011). "Secrets Behind Hollywood's Greatest Movie Posters". The Hollywood Reporter. This feature article about Gold's career has a link to fourteen images of his posters.
- Murphy, Mekado (December 3, 2010). "Poster Master With a Cool Hand". The New York Times. Article on Gold on the occasion of a book about his art.
- Trodson, Lars (October 26, 2009). "The Gold Standard: Roundtable Pictures Interviews Legendary Movie Poster Designer Bill Gold". Roundtable Pictures, Inc.
- American Film Institute (February 12, 2016). "Meet Bill Gold: The Man Behind the Most Iconic Movie Posters Ever". The New York Times. Bill Gold reflects on his art and his career.