Wagner was born in San Francisco, the son of Phyllis Edna Catherine (née Smith-Spurgeon) and Jens Otto Wagner. His mother was from New Zealand and his father was from Denmark. He attended art school and started his career in theatres in that city with designs for Don Pasquale, Amahl and the Night Visitors, Tea and Sympathy, and Waiting for Godot, among others. In 1958, he relocated to New York City, where he worked on numerous off-Broadway productions before making his Broadway debut as an assistant designer for the Hugh Wheeler play Big Fish, Little Fish in 1961. His first solo ... read more
