Grieve, Harold Walter (sold)
Harold Walter Grieve (February 1, 1901 - November 3, 1993) was a set designer and art director for Hollywood film studios and later an interior designer. A Los Angeles lifer, Grieve was born and raised in Hollywood, where he attended Hollywood High School. He briefly studied art before joining the film industry as a costume and set designer, working on several widely acclaimed films, including Ben Hur (1925) and Raoul Walsh's The Thief of Bagdad (1924). He is notable for being a founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Grieve and his wife, silent film star Jetta Goudal (1891 - 1985), transitioned better than most when 'talkies' did away with silent films around 1930. They established an acclaimed interior design business that catered to Hollywood stars, among others. Grieve remained active in 'the Academy' for the rest of his life and remained something of a known personage among an older generation of Hollywood insiders. Grieve also served in the U.S. Navy during the Second World War, and after the war designed a new village for the residents of Bikini Atoll, who were displaced from their home island to allow for the testing of nuclear bombs. Like many of their contemporaries from the early days of Hollywood, Grieve and his wife are buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
Last Days of the Silent Film Era in Hollywood.
A whimsical pictorial view of Hollywood at the end of the silent era by Harold Grieve, one of the great set designers of the era. Originally produced c. 1926, this example was issued c. 1970 and signed by Grieve in 1980. (more details)