Ken Adam was a renowned British movie production designer, whose impressive body of work includes iconic set designs for the James Bond films of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as the thought-provoking Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964).
Adam's career in film production design began with his work on the British thriller Spin a Dark Web in 1956, which marked his first major screen credit. In 1961, he was hired to work on the first James Bond film, Dr. No (1962),a role that would lead to his association with the franchise.
However, Adam did not work on the second James Bond film, From Russia with Love (1963),as he was preoccupied with Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964). This collaboration with Kubrick would prove to be a significant turning point in Adam's career, as it allowed him to showcase his innovative and semi-futuristic set design skills in subsequent James Bond films, including Goldfinger (1964),Thunderball (1965),You Only Live Twice (1967),Diamonds Are Forever (1971),The Spy Who Loved Me (1977),and his final Bond film, Moonraker (1979).
In addition to his work on the James Bond franchise, Adam collaborated with Kubrick again on Barry Lyndon (1975),for which he received an Academy Award. He also worked on other notable films, such as The Ipcress File (1965) and its sequel Funeral in Berlin (1966),Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969),Sleuth (1972),and The Madness of King George (1994),earning his second Oscar for Best Art Direction.
In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the film industry and his work promoting Anglo-German relations, Adam was knighted in 2003. He passed away on March 10, 2016, at the age of 95, leaving behind a legacy as one of the most accomplished and influential production designers in the history of cinema.
