Career
An artificial lake created for the former film was named in his honor. Fred Sersen was born Ferdinand Metodej Sersen, February 24, 1890, in Czechoslovakia. At the age of 17 he came to the United States.
He studied art at the Los Angeles School of Art and Design, the Portland Art Academy, and the San Francisco Institute of Artist
His first credited film was A Connecticut Yankee (1931). In 1937 he recreated the 1871 Great Chicago Fire on the screen for the film In Old Chicago.
Other notable effects for which he is credited include the fire in Hangover Square, the flying saucer in The Day the Earth Stood Still, and the sinking of the ship in Titanic. He died December 11, 1962 in Los Angeles, California.