Frank J. Del Giudice, Designed Interior For Boeing 707 Jetliner

The job was one of the most important in the history of The Boeing Co.: Design the interior of the first commercial jetliner, the 707.

The person who got the assignment was Frank J. Del Giudice.

"Boeing built a mockup that reproduced the 707's fuselage dimensions but was just an empty shell awaiting Del Giudice's ideas," according to a book on Boeing history, "Legend and Legacy," published last year. "The designer laid down one hard-and-fast rule: No one from Boeing was allowed to see the mockup until Del Giudice and his crew finished the interior."

Mr. Del Giudice died Oct. 17 of a heart attack at his home in the Three Tree Point area. He was 77.

Mr. Del Giudice wanted to keep Boeing staff away from the 707, "Legend and Legacy" said, to prevent "kibitzing, criticizing and suggesting changes that would have delayed completion indefinitely."

Mr. Del Giudice succeeded, meeting the completion deadline. He also designed an interior that avoided the tube-like impression of other airliners and pioneered such features as easily cleaned vinyl wall surfaces.

Mr. Del Giudice took on his first Boeing job a decade earlier, overseeing the interior design for the change of the World War II B-29 bomber into the commercial Stratocruiser.

At a time when most airplane cabins had a "DC-3 look" of nondescript mauve or gray mohair upholstery, Mr. Del Giudice used colors, and later added such touches as overhead reading lights and

luggage racks, all standard equipment on airliners today.

Mr. Del Giudice actually worked for the New York firm of Walter Dorwin Teague Associates, an international industrial design and systems engineering company. He was sent by the firm to Seattle in 1946 and spent the rest of his career here. He became president and chief executive of the firm in 1972 and retired from his post in 1982. He served as chairman until 1987.

The Teague firm, which operated a branch in Seattle, designed the interior of every generation of Boeing jets.

Mr. Del Giudice was born in New York and studied advertising design at Pratt Institute before going to work for Teague in 1938.

He is survived by his wife of 53 years, the former Norma Westman; three daughters, Rosemary Del Giudice of Kent and Barbara and Norma Marie Del Giudice, both of Seattle; a son, Peter Del Giudice, of Plains, Mont.; a sister, Maria Amicucci of Helena, Mont., and five grandchildren.

A funeral Mass was said Oct. 21 at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Seahurst. Burial was at Washington Memorial Cemetery in SeaTac.

Material from Times news services was used in this report.