William S. Darling | |
---|---|
Born |
Wilhelm Sándorházi 14 September 1882 Sandorhaza, Kingdom of Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Empire |
Died | 15 December 1963 Laguna Beach, California |
(aged 81)
Occupation | Art director Painter |
Years active | 1921-1954 |
William S. Darling (14 September 1882–15 December 1963) was a Hungarian-born art director who is an inductee of the American Art Directors Guild Hall of Fame.
Darling was born Wilmos Bela Sándorházi (also Adalbert Sandorhazi) in Sándorháza, Kingdom of Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Empire. He initially studied architecture because of his father's wishes, but later switched to the Budapest Academy of Fine Arts where he studied painting. He continued his studies on scholarship at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, France.
In 1910, Darling immigrated to New York City using the name Adalbert Sandorhazi. He successfully pursued a career as a portrait artist. He changed his name from Sándorházi to Darling during World War I when his wife suggested he adopt her maiden name to avoid the foreign sound. Around 1920 he moved to Southern California where he began work as an art designer on films and soon became the head of the art department at 20th Century Fox. Darling worked on 61 films between 1921 and 1954. His notable work includes the John Ford-directed films The Iron Horse (1924), Judge Priest (1934) and The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936); the Academy Award-winning film adaptation of the Noël Coward's play Cavalcade (1933); and The Rains Came (1939) with Tyrone Power and Myrna Loy.