Tom Wilkes (2)

Renowned American art director, graphic designer, illustrator, photographer, writer and producer-director.
Born 30th July 1939, Long Beach, California, USA; died 28th June 2009, Pioneertown, California, USA. Wilkes died of a heart-attack aged 69.

Raised in southern California, Wilkes attended Long Beach City College, UCLA and the Art Center School*, LA in the 1950’s and 1960’s. From late 1967 to 1969 he was art director for A&M Records.
*Now the Art Center College of Design, Pasadena.

Early in 1967 Wilkes was hired by Jimi Hendrix. Some 200,000 fans attended the event over the three days, heralding "The Summer Of Love" and the counterculture movement that followed in the wake of "The Beat Generation".

His Festival work had gained him an intro to design for the Tom Wilkes Productions, Inc. and went on to become President of the non-profit corporation Project Interspeak.