John B. Mansbridge

John B. Mansbridge was an art director and production designer best known for his Oscar-nominated work for set decoration on the films The Island at the Top of the World and Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and his Emmy Award-winning work for art direction on the CBS television series Beauty and the Beast.

Mansbridge joined Disney in the 1950s and remained with the company for more than two decades as a designer and supervising art director for live-action features. While there, he was mentored by production designer Carroll Clark, a seven-time Oscar nominee. Mansbridge contributed to films such as The Love Bug, Tron, The World’s Greatest Athlete, Escape to Witch Mountain, Pete’s Dragon, Freaky Friday, The Shaggy D.A., and Frankenweenie, among others.

He also worked on the television series Adventures of Superman, Bus Stop, The New Mickey Mouse Club, Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color and The Twilight Zone as well as the telefilms Secrets of the Pirates' Inn, with Ed Begley and The Diamond Trap, with Brooke Shields.

Mansbridge got his start as an uncredited draftsman on Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane. He also served in the RKO art department under six-time Oscar nominee Van Nest Polglase. His first credited contribution to film came with 1956’s Glory, starring Margaret O'Brien and Walter Brennan. Over the course of his career, Mansbridge would work on nearly 100 feature films, including 1973’s Superman, The Incredible Journey, Trenchcoat and Country, with Jessica Lange, Sam Shepard and Wilford Brimley.

In 2006, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Art Directors Guild.

Mansbridge died January 11, 2016, in La Quinta, California. He was 98.