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Oscar Designer Barbara Ling Dies, Warns LA Preservation Crisis

7/11/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Production designer Barbara Ling died Thursday in Santa Barbara at 73 after cancer.
She won the Oscar for Best Production Design for Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019).
She rebuilt 1969 Los Angeles facades such as the Pussycat and Bruin Theaters.
After her Oscar, Ling warned that Los Angeles is not a preservation city and future period-authentic sets may be impossible.

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Story summary

Production designer Barbara Ling died Thursday in Santa Barbara at 73 after cancer.
She won the Oscar for Best Production Design for Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019).
She rebuilt 1969 Los Angeles facades such as the Pussycat and Bruin Theaters.
After her Oscar, Ling warned that Los Angeles is not a preservation city and future period-authentic sets may be impossible.