George Izenour
| George Charles Izenour | |
|---|---|
| Born |
July 24, 1912 New Brighton, Pennsylvania |
| Died | March 24, 2007 (aged 94) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Occupation | Theatrical Designer |
George Charles Izenour (pronounced I-zen-our), MPhys, AIEEE (July 24, 1912 – March 24, 2007) was an author, educator, designer and leading innovator in the field of theatrical design and technology. Best known for creating one of the first electronic theatre lighting dimming system, over the course of his career he invented and developed multiple technologies at the core of modern theatrical productions.
Born in New Brighton, Pennsylvania, before moving to Ambridge in 1917. In 1918 Izenour's father moved the family to Mansfield, Ohio. Because of a condition known as , a non-spherical deformation of the cornea of the eye, George's early education was augmented by his parents at home. His mother taught him English and Latin and his father history and mathematics. George did not begin his formal schooling until the age of six in Mansfield.
While still living in Mansfield, he appeared in all of the Mansfield Senior High School plays. He painted the scenery for them and became increasingly interested in the technical aspects of theatre.
Izenour attended Wittenberg College in Springfield, Ohio, where he eventually obtained a master's degree in physics. His thesis was the embodiment of what would later become the first electronic theatre lighting dimming system.
George married Hildegard Hilt, a classmate from Wittenberg, after graduation and moved to California.
Shortly after moving to California, George met Hallie Flanagan, the national director of the Federal Theatre Project. Eventually, he became the lighting director of the project. While in California, Izenour designed the theatre at the Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco in 1939.
Izenour was made a Fellow of the Rockefeller Foundation on July 10, 1939, 10 days after the House Un-American Activities Committee declared all of the members of the Federal Theater Communists, effectively closing the Federal Theater. With his Rockefeller grant, George Izenour gained a position at Yale University, with the mandate to establish a laboratory dedicated to the advancement of theatre technology.
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