Edward C. Carfagno

The distinguished art director and production designer Edward Carfagno had a long career under contract to MGM (1943-1970). During that time, he worked on some of the studio's most prestigious films and established a reputation for creating an authentic and accurate period feel. He frequently worked on costume epics made by MGM at Cinecitta in Rome. Carfagno was nominated thirteen times for Academy Awards, winning for The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), sharing with Cedric Gibbons, Edwin B. Willis and F. Keogh Gleason; Julius Caesar (1953)with Gibbons, Gleason and Hugh Hunt); and Ben-Hur (1959)with Gibbons, Hunt and William A. Horning). His other notable contributions include Quo Vadis (1951), Soylent Green (1973) and Pale Rider (1985) (one of five Clint Eastwood-directed films he worked on as set designer). A graduate from the University of Southern California, Carfagno started work at MGM in 1939 as a draftsman on The Wizard of Oz (1939), quickly working his way up to production designer. His first fully credited film in that capacity was the Lucille Ball comedy Best Foot Forward (1943). Edward Carfagno was inducted into the Art Director's Guild Hall of Fame in 2007.