Born in Menominee, Michigan. The son of a brewery owner, he trained as an architect at Washington University at St. Louis and worked in the advertising art department of the Chicago Tribune and for a Chicago architectural firm before going to Hollywood in 1919. He played a small role in one film, then began designing costumes for Cecil B. De Mille and other directors. Among the films for which he designed costumes were De Mille's MALE AND FEMALE (1919) and FORBIDDEN FRUIT (1921), Allan Dwan's ROBIN HOOD (1922), Ernst Lubitsch's ROSITA (1923), and Raoul Walsh's THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (1924). Moving up to set decorator and art director, Leisen later designed sets for such sumptuous De Mille productions as THE ROAD TO YESTERDAY (1925), THE VOLGA BOATMAN (1926), THE KING OF KINGS (1927), THE GODLESS GIRL (1929), MADAM SATAN (1930), THE SQUAW MAN (1931), and THE SIGN OF THE CROSS (1932). Leisen's sense of design remained evident in his own films when he began directing in 1933 (CRADLE SONG, Paramount). The films Leisen directed for Paramount and other studios have been noted for their visual luster and entertaining pace. His consistency of style was particularly impressive in view of the thematic weakness of many of the films he was assigned to direct. Leisen was known as a "woman's director" for the many romantic films he made and for the strong performances he elicited from actresses. But above all he was known in the business as a thorough professional who handled each film with a great deal of preparation and methodical care. Some of his notable directing credits include HANDS ACROSS THE TABLE (1935), THE BIG BROADCAST OF 1937 (1936), SWING HIGH, SWING LOW and EASY LIVING (both 1937), THE BIG BROADCAST OF 1938 and ARTISTS AND MODELS ABROAD (both 1938), MIDNIGHT (1939), REMEMBER THE NIGHT and ARISE, MY LOVE (both 1940), I WANTED WINGS and HOLD BACK THE DAWN (both 1941), TAKE A LETTER, DARLING (1942), NO TIME FOR LOVE (1943), LADY IN THE DARK, FRENCHMAN'S CREEK and PRACTICALLY YOURS (all 1944), KITTY (1945), TO EACH HIS OWN (1946), GOLDEN EARRINGS (1947) and DREAM GIRL (1948). Leisen's career declined in the late 1940s and after several flops in the 50s, he began directing for TV and devoting much of his time to a second career as an interior decorator and co-owner of a stylish Beverly Hills tailor shop. He was also a talented sculptor.    Nominated for Interior Decoration 1928-29: DYNAMITE 1 nomination