Eddie Imazu
Edwin "Eddie" Imazu | |
---|---|
Born | [1] Yamaguchi, Japan | 12 November 1897
Died | 29 May 1979 Los Angeles, California, United States | (aged 81)
Other names | Edwin Imazu[1] |
Occupation | Art director |
Years active | 1927–1967 |
Edwin "Eddie" Imazu (12 November 1897 – 29 May 1979) was a Japanese-American
Early life
Imazu was born 12 November 1897 in Yamaguchi, Japan.[1][2] As a teenager, he emigrated with his parents to Los Angeles.[2] Employed as a houseboy while attending Hollywood High School, Imazu studied architecture and became the school's first Japanese graduate.[3] Afterward, Imazu attended the University of California, Berkeley and majored in architecture.
During his sophomore year, Imazu vacationed in Los Angeles and attended a party hosted by Sessue Hayakawa, the famous Japanese actor. While circulating at the party, Imazu met a supervising art director at the old Metro studios. This art director offered Imazu a job—either being a cameraman or working in the art field. Because of his interest in architecture, Imazu chose the latter.[3]
Career
Imazu joined
During the early 1930s, Imazu met Aiko Kondo, a cousin of
Mary, later known as "Yuri," recalled feeling awkward about her third-wheel presence but felt relieved that Aiko never showed the slightest irritation.[4] Yuri also recalled that Aiko Kondo was a portrait artist from an artistic family. When Yuri and her two brothers visited the Kondos, the siblings ran straight to the wastebaskets. They would rifle through the contents to retrieve discarded art, which they would take home.[4]
During the mid-1930s, Eddie Imazu married Aiko Kondo, creating a very happy, artistic union. In a 1947 interview with Pacific Citizen, Aiko Imazu said she preferred to make "rough sketches executed mostly in charcoal," whereas her husband created more complicated and detailed renderings.[3] Aiko's brother Takashi "Teek" Kondo, an accomplished cartoonist, eventually became an MGM employee in the art department.[3] Eddie and Aiko Imazu raised two daughters, Joyce and Darleen.
On
After release from detention, Imazu returned home to
During the 1950s, Imazu became a
An inside-page interview of Imazu, at age 50, appeared in the edition of 20 December 1947 of Pacific Citizen, a Japanese-American newspaper. The headline reads, "Hollywood Story: A Portrait of Eddie Imazu, Art Director at MGM Studios." And the byline reads, By Alice Sumida. In the 24-inch profile, Imazu describes how he works.[3]
First, he reads the script. If the movie must be shot on location, Imazu travels to an appropriate area and selects a site. For a studio movie, Imazu spends one or two months breaking the story into sets, estimating costs, making layouts, sketching and drawing models, and consulting the director. Imazu lines up the sets needed to ensure they're built in the proper order. He does a "roughing out," followed by a drafting.
After the models are drawn, the director studies them and may suggest changes. If the proposed budget is suitable and the director is satisfied, the set plans go from the draftsman's workroom to the mill, where the units are made. After they're built, the sets are assembled on the stage and set up. Lastly, each set is painted, dressed and made ready to shoot. In Technicolor movies, the set's colors must beautifully offset the costumes, so wardrobe designers contribute ideas. Imazu's budget is 12% to 15% of the total production cost, usually about $250,000. A studio movie costs at the very least $1.5 million.[3]
In 1936, Eddie Imazu was an
Death
After retiring from MGM in the late 1960s, Imazu fell into poor health. He died 29 May 1979 at age 81 in Los Angeles.[2] Aiko Kondo Imazu died in April 1983.[2]
Selected filmography
- The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
- The Tall Target (1951)
Notes
- ^ a b c Note the discrepancy in both his name and birth dates here: Some places his birth month is listed as December, but REALLY it's November, his real name is "Edwin" but it appears elsewhere on the internet as "Edward"; Eddie's youngest daughter corrects this.
- ^ a b c d Fujita, Darleen; Aiko Kondo (2011). "Correcting the Record" (PDF). Interviewed by Elizabeth Nakahara. Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 31 March 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Sumida, Alice (20 December 1947), "Hollywood Story: A Portrait of Eddie Imazu, Art Director at MGM Studios", Pacific Citizen, Los Angeles, California, p. 24
- ^ a b c Kochiyama, Mary Yuriko; Aiko Kondo (2011). "Interview of Yuri Kochiyama" (PDF). Interviewed by Elizabeth Nakahara. Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 31 March 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- Internet Movie Database, retrieved 15 June 2012
References
- Pacific Citizen, Saturday, 20 December 1947, Alice Sumida, "Hollywood Story: A Portrait of Eddie Imazu, Art Director at MGM Studios," Los Angeles
- The Mainichi, Friday, 27 April 1956, "French, Americans Shooting Films in Nara And Nagasaki," Osaka, Japan
- Fujita, Darleen; Aiko Kondo (2011). "Correcting the Record" (PDF). Interviewed by Elizabeth Nakahara. Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 31 March 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- Kochiyama, Mary Yuriko; Aiko Kondo (2011). "Interview of Yuri Kochiyama" (PDF). Interviewed by Elizabeth Nakahara. Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 31 March 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
External links
- Eddie Imazu at IMDb
- Eddie Imazu at AllMovie