Motion Picture Art Director. Arguably Hollywood's greatest production designer, and one of the few known to the general public by name. As Supervising Art Director at MGM from 1924 to 1956, Gibbons was the man most responsible for the opulent look of that studio's films. His use of Art Deco in "Our Dancing Daughters" (1928) helped popularize that style in America, and the larger-than-life splendor of his movie sets influenced upscale interior design for years. A founder of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Gibbons designed the Oscar statuette and won 11 of them himself (out of 39 nominations), for "The Bridge of San Luis Rey" (1929), "The Merry Widow" (1934), "Pride and Prejudice" (1940), "Blossoms in the Dust" (1941), "Gaslight" (1944), "The Yearling" (1946), "Little Women" (1949), "An American in Paris" (1951), "The Bad and the Beautiful" (1952), "Julius Caesar" (1953), and "Somebody Up There Likes Me" (1956). The son of an architect, Gibbons claimed he was born in Dublin while other sources say Brooklyn was more likely. After graduating from New York's Art Student's League he entered films in 1915 at the Edison studio and became art director for Goldwyn Pictures in 1918. In 1924 he joined the newly-formed MGM as head of its art department, with a contract that gave him credit on all major releases. His name appeared on over 1500 productions, more than any other 20th Century filmaker, though on most of these he worked only in a limited supervising capacity. He personally designed around 150 films. In 1950 Gibbons was awarded a special Oscar for "Consistent Excellence". He was married to actress Dolores Del Rio from 1930 to 1941.
Motion Picture Art Director. Arguably Hollywood's greatest production designer, and one of the few known to the general public by name. As Supervising Art Director at MGM from 1924 to 1956, Gibbons was the man most responsible for the opulent look of that studio's films. His use of Art Deco in "Our Dancing Daughters" (1928) helped popularize that style in America, and the larger-than-life splendor of his movie sets influenced upscale interior design for years. A founder of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Gibbons designed the Oscar statuette and won 11 of them himself (out of 39 nominations), for "The Bridge of San Luis Rey" (1929), "The Merry Widow" (1934), "Pride and Prejudice" (1940), "Blossoms in the Dust" (1941), "Gaslight" (1944), "The Yearling" (1946), "Little Women" (1949), "An American in Paris" (1951), "The Bad and the Beautiful" (1952), "Julius Caesar" (1953), and "Somebody Up There Likes Me" (1956). The son of an architect, Gibbons claimed he was born in Dublin while other sources say Brooklyn was more likely. After graduating from New York's Art Student's League he entered films in 1915 at the Edison studio and became art director for Goldwyn Pictures in 1918. In 1924 he joined the newly-formed MGM as head of its art department, with a contract that gave him credit on all major releases. His name appeared on over 1500 productions, more than any other 20th Century filmaker, though on most of these he worked only in a limited supervising capacity. He personally designed around 150 films. In 1950 Gibbons was awarded a special Oscar for "Consistent Excellence". He was married to actress Dolores Del Rio from 1930 to 1941.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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