Andrew Allen-King
- Art Department
- Additional Crew
- Composer
Born in England, Andrew attended the University of West Sussex Art and
Design faculty before setting off on a number of adventurous solo
adventures to different points around the globe. While traveling,
Andrew supported himself by taking local jobs. He trained as a
mechanical engineer installing moving walkways and baggage conveyor
systems at an International Airport. While in Australia, he became the
operator of the biggest overhead crane in the Southern Hemisphere. He
harvested the grapes in the Carcassonne region of southern France and
was briefly a bouncer at a roller disco. When Andrew returned to
England he started to produce/present a weekly radio show for a local
public radio station. Andrew also became singer/songwriter for a
ska/reggae band that he formed called 'Shakespeare'. 'Shakespeare'
became a popular band on the southeast England pub circuit.
Andrew moved to the USA in 1983. When he arrived in LA he found himself in the garment business. After only 18 months he became the manager of a high profile, high fashion clothing store in Beverly Hills. While working at the store he initiated a couple of other businesses. He become a "stylist to the stars", Clients included a slew of pop stars of the period, while also working as a window dresser, designing some of the most creative window displays Beverly Hills has ever seen. Andrew's window displays were noticed by a Production Designer who was about to start a feature film project for 20th Century Fox. She asked him to work as part of her creative team. This opened a whole new set of doors for Andrew's creativity. He was soon being offered Art Directer/Production Designer contracts for music videos and commercials.
Andrew became fascinated by the Prop department's work on feature films. The attention to detail, period and fictional character building, led him to seeking out a Prop Master mentor. He found Lynda Reiss (American Beauty & American History X) and together they became a highly sought after team working on a long string of movies for directors like Quentin Tarantino, Allison Anders, Robert Rodriguez etc.
While working on the Allison Anders film 'Grace of My Heart', Andrew's creative worlds converged. Music, movies and art all in the one place. Andrew worked props (which demanded a great deal of research into 50s & 60s period musical instruments etc.), he performed alongside Flea (The Red Hot Chili Peppers) in the movie as a psychedelic keyboard player. He was also asked by Anders to write a song for the project. The song was recorded and produced by Grammy award winner Larry Klein.
Andrew has never lost his interest in music and in 1995 built himself a project recording studio from the ground up at his home in the Hollywood Hills. From his new dream space he worked as writer / co-writer and remixed songs for Jack Sonni (Dire Straits), Patrick O'Hearn (Frank Zappa), Steve Farris (Mr Mister) and many others. He was awarded a Gold Disc for his work as an arranger/orchestrator on the Freddie Mercury recording 'The Great Pretender' and contributed to the score of Robert Altman's movie 'The Gingerbread Man'.
Wanting to leave no stone unturned, Andrew turned his attention to television, particularly to the situation comedy format. While working on 'Lateline' with the Emmy award-winning director Andy Ackerman, Andrew was asked by Ackerman to work on Hollywood's most coveted TV show and since the 1995 season he worked on Americas biggest television hit 'Seinfeld'. When Jerry Seinfeld threw in the towel, the Producers asked Andrew to work on their new show 'It's like...you know' for ABC/Dreamworks. Andrew moved back east to Connecticut, while there he went into a business/creative partnership with Jason Alexander (George in 'Seinfeld') to further develop an entertaining, educational, reality television show called 'Crafty Old Bag', that Andrew had created for cable Television. He also Art directed a cable reality TV interior design and lifestyle show 'Simplify your life' for the 'Fine Living network' and worked as Set Decorator for 'Martha Stewart's Living'.
Andrew now lives back in Los Angeles, California, where he enjoys the continuing development of his creative endeavors. Including the creation of a new TV dramatic comedy for cable Television, the Music supervision and Score for two independent movies and adding the finishing touches to a record remix project of the Windham Hill catalog. He has just finished work on the 2nd season of television's newest hit 'Grey's Anatomy'.
Andrew moved to the USA in 1983. When he arrived in LA he found himself in the garment business. After only 18 months he became the manager of a high profile, high fashion clothing store in Beverly Hills. While working at the store he initiated a couple of other businesses. He become a "stylist to the stars", Clients included a slew of pop stars of the period, while also working as a window dresser, designing some of the most creative window displays Beverly Hills has ever seen. Andrew's window displays were noticed by a Production Designer who was about to start a feature film project for 20th Century Fox. She asked him to work as part of her creative team. This opened a whole new set of doors for Andrew's creativity. He was soon being offered Art Directer/Production Designer contracts for music videos and commercials.
Andrew became fascinated by the Prop department's work on feature films. The attention to detail, period and fictional character building, led him to seeking out a Prop Master mentor. He found Lynda Reiss (American Beauty & American History X) and together they became a highly sought after team working on a long string of movies for directors like Quentin Tarantino, Allison Anders, Robert Rodriguez etc.
While working on the Allison Anders film 'Grace of My Heart', Andrew's creative worlds converged. Music, movies and art all in the one place. Andrew worked props (which demanded a great deal of research into 50s & 60s period musical instruments etc.), he performed alongside Flea (The Red Hot Chili Peppers) in the movie as a psychedelic keyboard player. He was also asked by Anders to write a song for the project. The song was recorded and produced by Grammy award winner Larry Klein.
Andrew has never lost his interest in music and in 1995 built himself a project recording studio from the ground up at his home in the Hollywood Hills. From his new dream space he worked as writer / co-writer and remixed songs for Jack Sonni (Dire Straits), Patrick O'Hearn (Frank Zappa), Steve Farris (Mr Mister) and many others. He was awarded a Gold Disc for his work as an arranger/orchestrator on the Freddie Mercury recording 'The Great Pretender' and contributed to the score of Robert Altman's movie 'The Gingerbread Man'.
Wanting to leave no stone unturned, Andrew turned his attention to television, particularly to the situation comedy format. While working on 'Lateline' with the Emmy award-winning director Andy Ackerman, Andrew was asked by Ackerman to work on Hollywood's most coveted TV show and since the 1995 season he worked on Americas biggest television hit 'Seinfeld'. When Jerry Seinfeld threw in the towel, the Producers asked Andrew to work on their new show 'It's like...you know' for ABC/Dreamworks. Andrew moved back east to Connecticut, while there he went into a business/creative partnership with Jason Alexander (George in 'Seinfeld') to further develop an entertaining, educational, reality television show called 'Crafty Old Bag', that Andrew had created for cable Television. He also Art directed a cable reality TV interior design and lifestyle show 'Simplify your life' for the 'Fine Living network' and worked as Set Decorator for 'Martha Stewart's Living'.
Andrew now lives back in Los Angeles, California, where he enjoys the continuing development of his creative endeavors. Including the creation of a new TV dramatic comedy for cable Television, the Music supervision and Score for two independent movies and adding the finishing touches to a record remix project of the Windham Hill catalog. He has just finished work on the 2nd season of television's newest hit 'Grey's Anatomy'.