Dwight Franklin Explained

George Dwight Franklin (1888–1971) was an American artist, taxidermist, naturalist, museum curator and costume designer for early Hollywood films.

Personal life

Dwight Franklin was born on January 28, 1888, in New York City. He married Mary C. McCall Jr., a novelist and screenwriter, in January 1928. They divorced in February 1943 and he married Eliza Moultrie Franklin in 1947. They remained married until his death.[1] Some time between 1920 and 1925, Dwight Franklin joined nearly 250 bohemians in signing The Greenwich Village Bookshop Door at Frank Shay's Bookshop on Christopher Street. The door is now held at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin and Franklin's signature can be found on front panel 3.[2]

Franklin died on January 19, 1971, in Santa Monica, California.

Career

Dwight Franklin began working in 1906 as a taxidermist for the American Museum of Natural History. In 1910, he participated in a museum-sponsored expedition to Moon Lake in Mississippi, part of the habitat of the American paddlefish.[3] Franklin created many figurines and sculptures. He built historical dioramas for the American Museum of Natural History, the Brooklyn Children's Museum, The Newark Museum of Art and the Museum of the City of New York.[4]

In 1915, Franklin founded the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists with John Treadwell Nichols and Henry Weed Fowler.

In the early 1930s, Franklin moved from New York City to Los Angeles to begin work as a costume designer for Hollywood films.[2]

Selected publications

Complete filmography

Complete known filmography of Dwight Franklin[5] !Name!Genre!Year!Role
The Black PirateAdventure, action1926Consultant
Treasure IslandAdventure, family1934Technical advisor
Anthony AdverseAdventure, drama, romance1936Technical consultant; 18th-century costumes
The PlainsmanWestern1936Costume designer
The BuccaneerAdventure, biography, drama1938
Reap the Wild WindAction, adventure, drama1942Wardrobe designer
The Adventures of Mark TwainAdventure, biography, drama1944Technical advisor
Frenchman's CreekAdventure, drama, romance1944Technical advisor
Sinbad, the SailorAdventure, family, fantasy1947Men's costume designer
UnconqueredAdventure, drama, history1947Production illustrator
TycoonAdventure, drama, romance1947Men's wardrobe
The ExileAdventure, romance1947
Samson and DelilahDrama, family, history1949Illustrator
Fair Wind to JavaAction, adventure, drama1953Technical advisor

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Dwight (George Dwight) Franklin . March 1, 2024 . askArt.
    - Web site: Eliza Moultrie Franklin, "California Death Index, 1940–1997 . Family Search . subscription.
  2. Web site: Dwight Franklin . The Greenwich Village Bookshop Door . 2022-10-11 . Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin.
  3. Dean . Bashford . 1914-05-23 . The Life Habits of Fishes: Exhibits in the American Museum . . 77 . Supplement No. 2003 . 332–333. 10.1038/scientificamerican05231914-332supp . Google Books.
  4. Reniers . Percival . 1920-03-01 . A New Art of the Theatre . Theatre Magazine . 31 . 229 . 176–177 . HathiTrust Digital Library . March 1, 2024.
  5. Web site: Dwight Franklin (1888–1971) . IMDb.

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