Bo Welch

Robert W. Welch III (born 1951) is an American production designer, art director, film and television director and occasional actor. He is best known for his collaborations with directors such as Tim Burton and Barry Sonnenfeld.

Bo Welch
Welch in 2024
Born	Robert W. Welch III 1951 (age 73–74) Yardley, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Production designer, art director, director, actor
Years active	1979–present
Spouse	Catherine O'Hara ​ (m. 1992)​
Children	2

Early life

Welch was born in Yardley, Pennsylvania.^[1]

Career

Welch worked as a production designer on the Tim Burton films Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice and Batman Returns, as well as on the Barry Sonnenfeld films Men in Black and Wild Wild West, among other films. He made his directorial debut with The Cat in the Hat, based on the beloved Dr. Seuss book of the same name. He has been nominated for four Academy Awards for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, three of them shared with set decorator Cheryl Carasik and another one with J. Michael Riva and Linda DeScenna. The four films are Men in Black, The Birdcage, and A Little Princess with Carasik,^[2] and The Color Purple with Riva and DeScenna.

Personal life

Welch met actress Catherine O'Hara on the set of Beetlejuice in 1988.^[3] They married in 1992 and have two sons: Matthew (b. 1994) and Luke (b. 1997).^[4]

Filmography

As production designer

Year	Film	Other notes
1985	The Color Purple	Nominated — Academy Award for Best Production Design
1986	Violets Are Blue
1987	The Lost Boys
1988	The Accidental Tourist
	Beetlejuice
1989	Ghostbusters II
1990	Edward Scissorhands	BAFTA Award for Best Production Design
	Joe Versus the Volcano
1991	Grand Canyon
1992	Batman Returns	Nominated — Awards Circuit Community Awards for Best Production Design
1994	Wolf
1995	A Little Princess	Nominated — Academy Award for Best Production Design Nominated — Awards Circuit Community Award for Best Art Direction
1996	The Birdcage	LAFCA Award for Best Production Design Nominated — Academy Award for Best Production Design Nominated — ADG Award for Excellence in Production Design Nominated — Awards Circuit Community Award for Best Art Direction
1997	Men in Black	Nominated — Academy Award for Best Production Design Nominated — ADG Award for Excellence in Production Design
1998	Primary Colors
1999	Wild Wild West
2000	What Planet Are You From?
2002	Men in Black II
2008	Space Chimps
2009	Land of the Lost
2011	Thor	Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Production Design
2012	Men in Black 3
2017–2019	A Series of Unfortunate Events	Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Production Design Nominated — ADG Award for Excellence in Production Design
2021	Schmigadoon!	Nominated — ADG Award for Excellence in Production Design
2022		Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Production Design
2024	Beetlejuice Beetlejuice	(visual consultant)

As art director

Year	Film	Other notes
1983	The Star Chamber
	Heart of Steel
1984	Swing Shift
	Best Defense
	The Hoboken Chicken Emergency
1985	The Color Purple
1986	Violets Are Blue

As director

Year	Film	Other notes
1999–2000	Secret Agent Man	Series director: 5 pilot episodes and 1 episode
2001	The Tick	2 episodes
2003	The Cat in the Hat	Nominated — Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director
2017–2019	A Series of Unfortunate Events	5 episodes

As actor

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2002	Men in Black II	Astronaut	Uncredited
2012	Men in Black 3	Pedestrian	Uncredited
2014	Tiebraker	Father