NEW YORK (AP) — Ken Adam, the British production designer who gave "Dr. Strangelove" its cavernous War Room and James Bond supervillains their futuristic lairs, has died.
MGM Studios and Eon Productions mourned the death of "our beloved friend" in a statement on the official James Bond Twitter account, hailing Adam as the person "who was so responsible for the visual style of the James Bond films."
In the art of production design, Adam's work on Stanley Kubrick's 1964 classic is widely considered among the craft's highest achievements.
After the war, he was hired to assist veteran designer William Cameron Menzies ("Gone With the Wind") on the Oscar-winning 1956 film "Around the World in 80 Days."
Adam caught the eye of producer Albert "Cubby" Broccoli who, after hiring him for "The Trials of Oscar Wilde," enlisted a reluctant Adam for 1962's "Dr. No," the first Bond film.
Sets created by Adam - like the interior of the British Secret Service headquarters and Dr. No's base - created a template for the franchise that would follow.
Other memorable inventions included the winged automobile of 1968's "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," the gothic home of 1993's "Addams Family Values" and the Cold War atmosphere of 1965's "The Ipcress File."
