William Bellin was a costume, prop and set designer in the performing arts industry. In the course of his career, he was involved with a wide variety of projects including working with the UCLA Theatre Arts Department, Margaret Buxton's Originals, Irvin and Kenneth Feld, and production designer George Jenkins. The collection consists mainly of materials related to his professional career as graphic artist and designer and includes blueline set drawings; costume and prop sketches; playbills; graphic design samples; photographs and transparencies of display materials; and snapshots of scenic elements, floats and props.

William Wallace D'Andurand Bellin was born in Providence, RI, May 25, 1919. He was a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Department of Architecture (1937-41), where he gained experience designing settings and costumes for theater pageants and plays, especially influenced by Grace L. Ripley. During the same years, he did packaging design and architectural renderings in Providence, RI. Bellin also completed one year of study in motion picture set and costume design at the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles. From 1942-45, he worked as an engineering production illustrator at the Douglas Aircraft Company's El Segundo location. During this time, he was active as an actor and artist with local semi-professional companies. After a brief stay in New York (1946), Bellin returned to Los Angeles, and in 1947, he began his association with Margaret Buxton's Originals, a design firm specializing in display treatments for commercial and private properties. While at Buxton's he worked as a head designer and sample technician on a variety of projects, including displays and murals for Robinsons and The Broadway department stores.

4 Boxes 2 (linear ft); 4 Flat Oversize Boxes; 15 Oversize Map Folders

Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Performing Arts Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library, Performing Arts Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.