Jack Kerness
Art director
About Jack Kerness
Lived 1911 – 2010 (aged 98).
Jack Kerness (January 30, 1911 – January 9, 2010) was an art director for five Hollywood studios over his 70-year career working with such directors as Alfred Hitchcock and others.
He spent 37 years at Columbia Pictures and is noted for creating what is considered one of the best movie posters of all time. The poster is of Rita Hayworth starring in the title role of "Gilda." Noted photographer Robert Coburn took the full-length color Kodachrome while Jack Kerness acted as the art director, creating a sultry image of Hayworth in a Jean Louis gown.
Death Kerness died on January 9, 2010, in Canoga Park, California, at age 98 after a short stay at the Motion Picture Hospital. The cause of death was listed as natural causes.
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Important facts
People in Jack Kerness's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Jack Kerness's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Jack Kerness?
art director
When was Jack Kerness born?
Jack Kerness was born on 30 January 1911.
When did Jack Kerness die?
Jack Kerness died on 9 January 2010.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Jack Kerness. https://biography.guide/jack-kerness/
MLA: "Jack Kerness." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/jack-kerness/.
Chicago: "Jack Kerness." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/jack-kerness/.
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