James Basevi

James Basevi

Personal Info

  • Known for

    Art

  • Gender

    Male

  • Birthday

    1890-09-21

  • Day of Death

    1962-03-27 (71 years old)

  • Place of Birth

    Plymouth, Devon, England, UK

Biography

James Basevi (21 September 1890 – 27 March 1962) was a British-born art director and special effects expert.

After his military service during World War I Basevi emigrated to Canada and later on to the United States. He began his career in 1924 with MGM, designing sets for silent films. After the advent of talkies, Basevi became the head of MGM's special effects department, helping to create the earthquake scene in San Francisco (1936). He also worked on the storm sequence in John Ford's The Hurricane for 20th Century Fox.

Known For

Crew