A. Arnold Gillespie


Albert Arnold "Buddy" Gillespie was an American cinema special effects artist.

Biography

He was born on October 14, 1899, in El Paso, Texas. Gillespie joined MGM as a set designer in 1925, a year after it was founded. He was educated at Columbia University and the Arts Students League. His first project was the silent film Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, released that same year. He worked at the studio in various capacities until 1962. In 1936, he became the head of MGM's Special Effects Department.
He died on May 3, 1978, in Los Angeles, California.

Legacy

He wrote a book, The Wizard of MGM: Memoirs of A. Arnold Gillespie. Gillispie's nickname was "Buddy."

Academy Award wins and nominations

Personal life

Gillespie married Nell Hill in 1944. She died in 2000. They had one child, Thomas Scott Gillespie. A. Arnold was previously married to aviator Ruth Elder, with whom he had a son, William Trent Gillespie.

Partial filmography for special effects

Inasmuch as he worked on numerous films, only some of the better known ones and ones involving prominent special effects are listed below.Ben-Hur London After Midnight Night Flight San Francisco Test Pilot The Wizard of Oz Boom Town Comrade X Flight Command Mrs. Miniver Stand By For Action A Guy Named Joe Song of Russia The Heavenly Body The White Cliffs of Dover Mrs. Parkington Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo The Clock They Were Expendable Lady in the Lake The Beginning or the End The Sea of Grass The Hucksters Green Dolphin Street State of the Union Command Decision The Secret Garden Adam's Rib Annie Get Your Gun Kim Angels in the Outfield Quo Vadis Scaramouche Plymouth Adventure Million Dollar Mermaid The Bad and the Beautiful Young Bess Seven Brides for Seven Brothers Forbidden Planet High Society Jailhouse Rock Torpedo Run North by Northwest The Wreck of the Mary Deare Ben-Hur Atlantis, the Lost Continent How the West Was Won Mutiny On The Bounty The Unsinkable Molly Brown