Albert Arnold "Buddy" Gillespie (October 14, 1899 – May 3, 1978) was an American cinema special effects artist.
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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
Wins shown in bold
Special Effects 1939: The Wizard of Oz – Photographic
Special Effects 1940: Boom Town – Photographic
Special Effects 1941: Flight Command – Photographic
Special Effects 1942: Mrs. Miniver – Photographic (with Warren Newcombe)
Special Effects 1943: Stand By For Action – Photographic (with Donald Jahraus)
Special Effects 1944: Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo – Photographic (with Donald Jahraus and Warren Newcombe)
Special Effects 1945: They Were Expendable – Photographic (with Donald Jahraus and R. A. MacDonald)
Special Effects 1947: Green Dolphin Street – Visual (with Warren Newcombe)
Special Effects 1956: Forbidden Planet
Special Effects 1958: Torpedo Run – Special Effects (Visual)
Special Effects 1959: Ben-Hur – Special Effects (Visual) (with Robert A. MacDonald)
Special Effects 1962: Mutiny On The Bounty – Special Effects (Visual)
Scientific or Technical (Class III) 1963: For the engineering of an improved Background Process Projection System (with Douglas Shearer)
Personal life
Gillespie married Nell Hill in 1944. She died in 2000. They had one child, Thomas Scott Gillespie (1944–61). A. Arnold was previously married to aviator Ruth Elder, with whom he had a son, William Trent Gillespie (1940–2008).
Partial filmography for special effects
Inasmuch as he worked on numerous films (IMDb credits him with 203), only some of the better known ones and ones involving prominent special effects are listed below.