Fred Sersen
Fred Sersen (February 24, 1890 – December 11, 1962) was an American painter and cinema special effects artist working mainly at 20th Century Fox Studios from the 1930s to the 1950s with credits in over 200 movies. He won two Academy Awards for Best Effects, Special Effects (photographic), in 1940 for The Rains Came, and in 1944 for Crash Dive. An artificial lake created for the former film was named in his honor.
Fred Sersen
- Name
- Fred Sersen
- Born
- 24 February 1890
- Birthplace
- Veselí nad Moravou, Moravia, Austria-Hungary
- Died
- 11 December 1962
- Place of death
- Los Angeles, California, United States
- Occupation
- special effects artist
- Awards
- Best Visual Effects 1939 The Rains Came 1943 Crash Dive
- Full name
- Ferdinand Sršeň.
- Nationality
- United States and Cisleithania.
- Fields
- film, photography, film effect and painting.
- Honours
- Academy Award for Best Special Effects.
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Fred Sersen (February 24, 1890 – December 11, 1962) was an American painter and cinema special effects artist working mainly at 20th Century Fox Studios from the 1930s to the 1950s with credits in over 200 movies. He won two Academy Awards for Best Effects, Special Effects (photographic), in 1940 for The Rains Came, and in 1944 for Crash Dive. An artificial lake created for the former film was named in his honor.
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Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Fred Sersen • Born — 24 February 1890 • Birthplace — Veselí nad Moravou, Moravia, Austria-Hungary • Died — 11 December 1962 • Place of death — Los Angeles, California, United States • Occupation — special effects artist • Years Active — 1930–1956 • Awards — Best Visual Effects 1939 The Rains Came 1943 Crash Dive
Biography
Biography
Fred Sersen was born Ferdinand Metoděj Sršeň, February 24, 1890, in Veselí nad Moravou, then a part of Austria-Hungary, At the age of 17 he moved to the United States. He studied art at the Los Angeles School of Art and Design, the Portland Art Academy, and the San Francisco Institute of Art. His first credited film was A Connecticut Yankee (1931). In 1937 he recreated the 1871 Great Chicago Fire on the screen for the film In Old Chicago. Other notable effects for which he is credited include the fire in Hangover Square, the flying saucer in The Day the Earth Stood Still, and the sinking of the ship in Titanic. He died December 11, 1962, in Los Angeles, California.
Identity
Identity
Fred Sersen is recorded as film editor, artist, photographer, painter and special effects. Recorded at birth as Ferdinand Sršeň.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1890
Fred Sersen born at Veselí nad Moravou.
1962
Fred Sersen died at Los Angeles.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Veselí nad Moravou.
Birth place
Los Angeles.
Death place
Academy Awards nominations and wins
• Year — Title — Result — Ref • 1939 — The Rains Came • 1940 — The Blue Bird • 1941 — A Yank in the R.A.F. • 1942 — The Black Swan • 1943 — Crash Dive • 1944 — Wilson • 1945 — Captain Eddie • 1948 — Deep Waters
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Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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