- His career at MGM was so long that he worked on the original Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925) and its remake Ben-Hur (1959) and the original Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) and its remake Mutiny on the Bounty (1962).
- He joined MGM in 1925, only a year after it was founded, as set designer for Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925), and worked for the studio steadily in different capacities (set designer, art director and especially, special effects expert) until 1962.
- He became the head of MGM's special effects department in 1936.
- Posed for a publicity photo with MGM mascot Leo the Lion. Leo suddenly snuggled up to him, creating one of the Publicity Department's favorite photos.
- Educated at Columbia University and the Art Students League in New York. Worked as assistant art director at Paramount, 1922-24; art director at MGM, 1924-36. Head of MGM special effects department, 1936-65. Often collaborated closely with noted art director Cedric Gibbons, beginning with 'Ben-Hur' in 1924.
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