Victor A. Gangelin

Who was Victor A. Gangelin?

Victor A. Gangelin was an American feature film and television set decorator. He won an Academy Award in 1962 for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color for West Side Story. Gangelin was also nominated for another Oscar in 1945 for Best Art Direction-Interior Direction, Black-and-White for Since You Went Away.

He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of Victor Arthur Gengelin, a Russian immigrant, and Elizabeth Gangelin, a German immigrant. The younger Victor Gangelin's brother was screenwriter Paul Gangelin.

Victor Gangelin married former silent-screen actress and model Majel Coleman sometime prior to 1940. Coleman earned several screen credits in the 1920s, including feature films by famed director Cecil B. Demille, most notably the epic The King of Kings.

He served as a set director and assistant department head at Warner Brothers studio. Along with his Academy Award-nominated films, his 47 film and television credits include the John Wayne epics The Searchers and The Alamo as well as episodes of The Roy Rogers Show and My Mother the Car. His last credit was the 1966 film Duel at Diablo starring James Garner and Sidney Poitier.