Cedric Gibbons

Cedric Gibbons

Born: March 23, 1893
Died: July 26, 1960
in Dublin, Ireland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Austin Cedric Gibbons (March 23, 1893 – July 26, 1960) was an Irish art director and production designer for the film industry. He also made a significant contribution to motion picture theater architecture from the 1930s to 1950s. He is credited as the designer of the Oscar statuette in 1928.

Gibbons was born in Dublin, Ireland and studied at the Art Students League of New York and worked for his architect father. While at Edison Studios from 1915, he first designed a set for a film released in 1919, assisting Hugo Ballin. But, after this first foray, the studio closed, and he signed with Samuel Goldwyn in 1918. This evolved to working for Louis B. Mayer at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from 1924 to 1956—a 32-year career.

Gibbons was one of the original 36 founding members of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and oversaw the design of the Academy Awards statuette in 1928, a trophy for which he himself would be nominated 39 times, winning 11.

He retired in 1956 with about 1,500 films credited to him: however, his contract with MGM dictated that he receive credit as art director for every MGM film released in the United States, even though other designers may have done the bulk of the work. Even so, his actual hands-on art direction may have been on about 150 films.

In 1930, Gibbons married actress Dolores del Río and co-designed their house in Santa Monica, an intricate Art Deco residence influenced by Rudolf Schindler. They divorced in 1941; three years later he married actress Hazel Brooks with whom he remained until his death at the age of 67.

Gibbons's grave is in the Calvary Cemetery, East Los Angeles.

Movies for Cedric Gibbons...

Checking Out: Grand Hotel
Title: Checking Out: Grand Hotel
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: February 3, 2004
Type: Movie
Until 1932's Grand Hotel, never had there existed an all-star ensemble cast on film. Conceived by MGM's production genius Irving Thalberg, the film boasted names like Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Wallace Beery and John and Lionel Barrymore and went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. This short documentary takes a look at the making of the classic film.
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The Great Morgan
Title: The Great Morgan
Character: Cedric Gibbons (uncredited)
Released: January 1, 1945
Type: Movie
Frank Morgan is hired to put together a movie using odds and ends from the MGM vaults. He does so by splicing together a string of completely unrelated short subjects and musical numbers, interspersed with a repeated loop of a scene from some melodrama. (Contains in their entirety the shorts, "Musical Masterpieces," "Our Old Car," and "Badminton," as well as clips from other projects)
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1925 Studio Tour
Title: 1925 Studio Tour
Character: Self
Released: April 9, 1925
Type: Movie
A tour of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio in 1925 shows the people who make the movies there, and gives viewers a glimpse at how movies are made.