After graduating from New York's Art Students League he worked for his architect father, then started film work at Edison Studios in 1915 assisting 'Hugo Ballin' . In 1918 he moved to Goldwyn as art director and, in 1924, began his 32 year stint as supervising art director for some 1500 MGM films, with direct responsibility in well over 150 of those. He designed the Oscar itself, winning it 11 of the 37 times he was nominated for it. Some of his designs influenced American interiors, and it has been argued that he was the most important art director in the history of American cinema.
Chief of MGMs art department from 1924-56.
Designed the Academy Award (Oscar) statuette.
Received over 1500 on-screen credits between 1917-56, an unsurpassed record.
One of the 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Uncle of Sandra Shaw.
He was nominated for and won more Academy Awards than any other art director.
He was art director at MGM), and its immediate predecessors Metro-Goldwyn Studios and Metro Pictures, for the entire length of his career, and during that time he worked at no other studio.
Brother of writer Eliot Gibbons and brother-in-law of costume designer Irene (married to Eliot).
Great-uncle of Maria Cooper Janis.
According to the book "Lets Go to the Movies!" by Lester Gordon published by Santa Monica Press in 1992, the reason his name appears in over 1500 film credits is as follows: "His 1924 contract stated that every film released by MGM in the USA would give him the credit of Art Director, even though others did the majority of the work."
Dolores Del Rio recommended to Gibbons that he use Emilio Fernndez (aka "El Indio") as the model for the statue.
When I find things I like I see no reason to change them. Except women.
