Kalmus, Natalie (1878–1965)

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Kalmus, Natalie (1878–1965)

American entrepreneur. Born Natalie Dunfee, 1878, in Boston, MA; died Nov 15, 1965; graduate of Boston Art School and Curry School of Expression; m. Herbert T. Kalmus (inventor and film pioneer), 1902 (div. 1921).

With husband, perfected the three-color process of Technicolor for movies and was instrumental in marketing the process known as Technicolor; began to serve as color consultant of the Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation (1915); traveled extensively in US and Europe, conducting courses for art directors and technicians; put together the 1st business package designed to "sell" color to Hollywood studios (1932); also developed several techniques to make Technicolor seem more realistic; supervised the Technicolor process on some of the great film classics, including Robin Hood (1938), The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Gone With the Wind (1939).

See also Women in World History.