| A. Arnold Gillespie | |
| Birth Name: | Albert Arnold Gillespie |
| Other Names: | Buddy Gillespie |
| Birth Date: | 14 October 1899 |
| Birth Place: | El Paso, Texas, US |
| Death Place: | Los Angeles, California, US |
| Spouse: |
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| Children: | 2 |
| Occupation: | Special effects artist, set designer |
| Years Active: | 1926–1965 |
| Awards: | Academy Award for Best Visual Effects 1944 Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo 1947 Green Dolphin Street 1959 Ben-Hur Academy Award for Technical Achievement 1964 |
Albert Arnold "Buddy" Gillespie (October 14, 1899 – May 3, 1978) was an American cinema special effects artist.[1]
He was born on October 14, 1899, in El Paso, Texas. Gillespie joined MGM as a set designer in 1925, a year after it was founded. He was educated at Columbia University and the Arts Students League. His first project was the silent film Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, released that same year. He worked at the studio in various capacities until 1962. In 1936, he became the head of MGM's Special Effects Department.[2]
He died on May 3, 1978, in Los Angeles, California.
He wrote a book, The Wizard of MGM: Memoirs of A. Arnold Gillespie. Gillispie's nickname was "Buddy."
Wins shown in bold
Gillespie married Nell Hill in 1944. She died in 2000. They had one child, Thomas Scott Gillespie (1944–61). A. Arnold was previously married to aviator Ruth Elder, with whom he had a son, William Trent Gillespie (1940–2008).
Inasmuch as he worked on numerous films (IMDb credits him with 203), only some of the better known ones and ones involving prominent special effects are listed below.