TCM Fest to Honor ‘West Side Story’ Star Russ Tamblyn, ‘Amadeus’ Production Designer Patrizia von Brandenstein

Wilson Chapman
·3 min read
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Actor Russ Tamblyn and production designer Patrizia von Brandenstein will be the official honorees of this year’s TCM Classic Film Festival, Turner Classic Movies announced Tuesday.

Now in its 14th year, the TCM Festival screens dozens of classic films from the early years of Hollywood and honors individuals whose work in Hollywood left a longstanding impact on cinema. This year’s theme, “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet,” focuses on celebrating film legacies and stories told and retold across generations. This year’s festival will feature screenings of von Brandenstein’s films “Six Degrees of Separation” and “Amadeus,” and Tamblyn’s films “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” and “Peyton Place.” The two will introduce the screenings of their films and sit down with TCM hosts for keynote conversations about their life and work.

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Best known today for his performance as Riff in the original “West Side Story” film, Tamblyn began his career as a child actor, playing a supporting role in “The Boy with Green Hair” in 1948 when he was 14. Other early credits include “Father of the Bride,” “Samson and Delilah,” “Little Dividend,” “The Kid From Cleveland,” and “Retreat, Hell!,” while adult roles included “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,” “Tom Thumb,” “Don’t Go Near the Water,” “The Haunting,” and “Peyton Place,” for which he received a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Oscars. On TV, he played Dr. Jacoby in “Twin Peaks” and the show’s revival “The Return” as well as God in his daughter Amber Tamblyn’s series “Joan of Arcadia.” His late-career work included films “Drive” and “Django Unchained” and a supporting role in the 2018 Netflix series “The Haunting of Hill House.”

Patrizia von Brandenstein won the Oscar for Best Production Design in 1984 for her work on Miloš Forman’s “Amadeus.” She additionally received nominations in the category (then called Best Art Direction) for her work on “Ragtime” and “The Untouchables.” She began her career as a set decorator on the 1972 film “The Candidate,” and worked as a scenic artist on films like “Between the Lines” and “Saturday Night Fever.” Films she served as production designer on include “Silkwood,” “Working Girl,” and “Postcards From the Edge” (all by Mike Nichols), “Beat Street,” “Six Degrees of Separation,” “The Quick and the Dead,” “A Chorus Line,” “Billy Bathgate,” “Leap of Faith,” “The People Vs. Larry Flynt,” “A Simple Plan,” “Man on the Moon,” “Shaft,” and “All the King’s Men.” Her most recent production credit was on Season 1 of the HBO Max series “Julia.”

“We spend so much time talking about actors and directors, but filmmaking is a collaborative art. Patrizia has been at the top of her game for a long time, and we’re honored to be able to shine this spotlight on her and her craft. Her movies have the unmistakable touch of her art and impeccable taste,” Ben Mankiewicz, TCM Primetime Host and the official host of the TCM Festival, said in a statement. “Aside from being one of the really good guys in this business, it’s no accident that Russ was in three of the most seminal movies from the 1950s and early ‘60s. It’s impossible to think of the musicals ‘Seven Brides for Seven Brothers’ and ‘West Side Story’ without him, and then in between those he made this delicious drama ‘Peyton Place.’”

TCM Classic Film Festival will take place in Los Angeles from April 13 to April 16. Screenings and events will take place at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, TCL Chinese Theater, the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, and the Hollywood Legion Theater at Post 43. In addition to honoring Brandenstein and Tamblyn, the TCM Festival will also feature a tribute to the films of Warner Bros. Pictures in honor of the studio’s 100-year anniversary. Passes for the festival can be purchased here.

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