and Airway Market in 1946. In 1989, Ariss designed a five-year mural project for a walkway in Cannery Row. He and a group of about fifty young artists painted 52 eight-foot mural sections. In 1998, the murals had faded badly and a majority of the murals were refurbished, mostly by the original artists. The walkway is now named "Bruce Ariss Way." Ariss and his good friend Angelo Di Girolamo were instrumental in the founding, design and building in 1950 of the Monterey's Wharf Theater. "One of their presentations that year was Bruce Ariss' Point of Departure. The production was successful enough that MGM brought Ariss to Hollywood, where he worked for the following 5 years" building sets for The Bing Crosby Show, I Love Lucy, and other productions. Ariss also acted in the Wharf Theater; for example, he played Lennie in Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. The theater burned down on New Year's Eve, 1959. Years later, Ariss and Di Girolamo built a new theater on the wharf, now officially named the "Bruce Ariss Wharf Theater". Ariss also did the cover and illustrations of Vincent DiGirolamo's 1990 book Whispers Under the Wharf: A Monterey Ghost Story. Ariss was a very avid reader, mostly of science fiction. He wrote some science fiction short stories before publishing his science fiction novel, Full Circle (Avalon) in 1963. He also illustrated sci-fi works including Reginald Bretnor's Through Time and Space with Ferdinand Feghoot (1962). One of his many interests was a concept car called the Polaris. In 1958, Ariss designed an economy sedan with innovative features such as a sliding door, front-wheel drive and modular components. Ariss worked for 12 years at the Defense Language Institute with Barney Inada in the art department. Ariss also assisted the cartoonist Hank Ketcham with Dennis the Menace. Death Ariss died on September 11, 1994 in Monterey, California. References 1911 births 1994 deaths American draughtsmen American muralists 20th-century American painters American male painters Federal Art Project artists 20th-century American male artists