Charles Alvin Lisanby (January 22, 1924 – August 23, 2013) was an American Production Designer who helped define scenic design in early color television. During his career, he was nominated for sixteen Emmys and won three. In January 2010, Charles was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame at the nineteenth annual ceremony alongside Don Pardo, the Smothers Brothers, Bob Stewart, and Gene Roddenberry. Aside from his success in the entertainment industry, Charles is known for his close friendship with the artist Andy Warhol, which lasted for about ten years beginning in 1955.
Background
Charles was born to Rebecca Hollingsworth Lisanby and Charles Alvin Lisanby, Sr. in Princeton, Kentucky.
He graduated high school in 1940, at age 16, and was drafted into the United States Army the following year after the entry of the United States into World War II. Receiving an early discharge due to meningitis, Charles ignored his father's wishes for him to become a doctor and instead went to New York to attend art school.
His brother was retired United States Navy Rear Admiral James Lisanby ( 1928-2012), a former Chief of Engineers.
Influences in early color television
Charles Lisanby is currently the first and only Production Designer ever inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame. As well as contributing spectacular scenes and set piece design for countless television shows and movies, Charles helped pioneer several key recognizable features of television. As color television developed, experimentation with colorful scenes and costumes was needed and developed. One key feature Charles directly mastered was the use of neon lighting for shows. Early experiments with neon lights created a buzzing sound through the microphone system which was severe enough it could not be used. After working with engineers, lighting, and sound experts Charles was able to incorporate neon lights for the first time in television history. Charles also invented lighted steps as a feature of shows, and was the first to implement large block letters which actors could sit on as a part of the set.
As well as influencing scenic design as it is known today, Charles designed the first ever mini-series on television in 1973–1974 with his Emmy-winning Ben Franklin mini-series. He took scenic design to new heights with monumental set pieces such as his Parisian street set which created buzz across Hollywood and within the profession. Throughout his nearly 50-year career, Lisanby became arguably the most influential scenic designer.
Career
Charles' first professional commission was given to him in 1947 when the Friars Club in New York City commissioned him to paint a mural in the dining room of their headquarters. Coincidentally Ralph Levy, who at the time worked for CBS, saw Charles' work and asked him to design the experimental made-for-television ballet "Billy the Kid". His work gained the attention of the Theatrical Stage Designers Union who demanded he cease working for CBS until he took a test to gain entrance into the Union. Charles passed the test with the highest marks and met the influential stage designer Oliver Messel who offered him a job as his assistant working on the Broadway show Romeo and Juliet starring Olivia de Havilland in 1951.
After Romeo and Juliet, Charles continued to work in the same scene shop for a year until he was offered a job by Jim McNaughton at ABC. In 1954 CBS offered him a job for twice the salary which he immediately took and worked on The Jane Froman Show. Charles' then worked for CBS for a number of years on such shows as the infamous $64,000 Question and Camera Three where he met Lewis Freedman, the future head of PBS and director of the National Endowment for the Arts.
In 1958 Charles was asked to work with Ralph Levy and Bob Banner on the Gary Moore Show where he worked for six years on 234 shows and helped give Carol Burnett her television debut. After the series ended Charles went on to work on the Kraft Music Hall for Smith/Hemion; and in 1973 and 1974 he designed the Ben Franklin miniseries and received his first Emmy. Starting in 1979 he began annually working on Radio City Music Hall's Christmas Spectacular which he continued designing until 1996.
Working on everything from made-for-television movies, musicals, ballets and Broadway shows, Lisanby influenced nearly every aspect of scenic design in all mediums which he worked.