Peter Jamison ’66

Production Designer Peter M. Jamison died October 15, 2010, of complications from heart disease at his home in Venice, CA. He was 66. The production designer of over 36 films, his credits include At Close Range, Best Defense, Continental Divide, Empire Records, Howard the Duck, Mike’s Murder, Missing, Old Boyfriends, Point Break, RoboCop 2, Swing Shift, The Beverly Hillbillies, Tin Men, Used Cars, and Weekend at Bernie’s.

He was a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Jamison grew up on a farm in a small town near Pendleton, Oregon, and received his BA and MFA in 1966 from the University of Oregon in Theatre. Before moving to Los Angeles, he studied theatre in Paris and taught film appreciation at the University of Oregon. A grant from the American Film Institute led to an apprenticeship with production designer Jack Fisk on Trouble in Paradise, followed by work as an associate costume designer on Phantom of the Paradise and sole art director in 1974 on Big Bad Momma for Roger Corman’s New World Pictures. After that, Jamison worked steadily as art director and production designer until The Darwin Awards in 2006. He was an art director on over 10 other films including Mulholland Drive and The Big Red One. Jamison produced the just completed feature Bob’s New Suit, written and directed by Alan Howard, for Rowan Pictures for release next year. Jamison is survived by his nephew Glen Jamison, of Sedona, AZ, and numerous cousins in Oregon.