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| 1 | Elia Kazan (Sept 7, 1909-Sept 2, 2003, age 94), producer and director, hired identical twin brothers, born April 16, 1928, Richard "Dick" (deceased March 23, 2002, age 74) and twin brother Paul Sylbert as his "Baby Doll" production scenic designers and art directors, both sharing art director credit. The Sylbert twins had primarily been working in New York City's live television production as IATSE #829 scenic designers and set decorators. The Sylbert twins had Kazan hire their fellow New York City CBS television studio set decorator Gene Callahan (Nov 7, 1923-Dec 26, 1990, age 67 cancer), who joined them in Benoit, Mississippi to scout local locations and prep the film's primary plantation house location. Consulting and working with Elia Kazan, Gene and the Sylbert twins shared their film designing duties. Knowing of Gene Callahan's Louisiana heritage, Gene was the perfect choice to decorate the squalid run down plantation house interiors and plantation sight exteriors. Gene found the "baby doll" iron bed in a local antique shop, which became a featured prop in the film's set and playbill advertisements. The Sylbert twins and Gene were always on the film set with Kazan and his cinema photographer, during cast/camera rehearsal blocking shot, subsequent filming, on every set up. This was a natural condition to a television art department team, being a part of the cast and crew rehearsal and filming schedule, day and night. When not with the film crew, they would be preparing the next scene/film shot for the company move. Upon completion of the Mississippi filming, Gene took the "iron baby doll bed" back with him to New York City, placing the bed in his spacious and large West Side apartment's living room, a conversation piece! Kazan relied on Gene's Southern upbringing and scene interpretation in his rehearsals and scene motivation. This professional "Baby Doll" film relationship and experience secured the Sylbert's and Callahan's future alliance with Elia Kazan's future creative film assignments. Elia Kazan took Gene to Istanbul, Turkey and Athens, Greece, as his production designer for the 1963 location film "America, America." Gene Callahan won the 1963 Academy Award for Best Art Direction Black-and-White for his painstakingly accurate scenic set designs. |
| 2 | Gene Callahan performed a cameo role as the tugboat captain in his 1968 film "Funny Girl". Gene's physical build and appearance (a distinctive beard) often had him cast by his director in a cameo role. Like Alfred Hitchcock, if Gene liked the producer and director, he would agree to perform in the film in a small cameo, otherwise, he would decline the proposal. Producer Ray Stark and Gene Callahan were always on the set during the "Funny Girl" filming. Ray made Gene agree to perform the tugboat captain while the scene was filmed at sea to keep Gene, available, on set. |
| 3 | Callahan's association with Dick Sylbert's film production design assignments, as his "set decorator", enabled a long close working relationship with director Elia Kazan. Kazan hired Gene to be his Production Designer for his 1963 film "America, America", which is Gene's first 'art director' credit in Gene's biography of film work. The film, also, is Gene's first Academy of Motion Picture "Oscar" for "Art Direction". After accepting his Oscar, the New York Scenic Designer's Union #829 notified Gene that he had to join their union membership, which also dictated the union's initiation and membership fee and dues; Gene was notified that the initiation requirement expected him to provide his portfolio for the membership admission panel's review. Gene had Kazan's office deliver the "America, America" film reels to the #829 union offices. |
| 4 | During the early 50's working at CBS New York Television, Charles Lisanby was another scenic designer employed on CBS's television game shows and other productions. Gene's nick name for Lisanby was "buttons and bows". |
| 5 | Commencing with filming on "Steel Magnolias", after the third week, Producer Ray Stark met with Gene announcing that Herbert Ross wanted to dismiss Gene's set decorator Lee Poll, in order for Herbert Ross to bring his favorite "boy friend" set decorator aboard the "Steel Magnolia" film's crew. Callahan's disgusted reaction to Ray Stark and Herbert Ross' ultimatum, angered Gene; his response: "I have assembled my design team staff for the entire film's shooting schedule, nor would I allow Lee Poll to be fired! I QUIT under these conditions and circumstance." Gene, quit the film, announcing his departure at the end of that week, Friday. The same day, after the Ray Stark and Herbert Ross meeting, Gene's art director Hub Braden, returned to the stage after supervising location construction progress. He was greeted in the hallway, and was fired by Dean O'Brien, the UPM. Dean O'Brien later admitted to Ray Stark, he had made a major mistake dismissing Hub Braden. The UPM Dean O'Brien had to scramble hiring a non union art department to replace Callahan and Braden. Lee Poll remained two weeks for a cross over transfer of decorating information. Bill Gregory, Lee Poll's lead man, remained for the entire filming schedule, since he had organized and contracted purveyors for all the preliminary decorating contracts required for the film's set decorating schedule. The Roger Irvin and Bill Iiams, construction coordinator and assistant, refused making alterations or changes to any of the sets, ignoring the replacement stand-in production designer or art director's verbal additions, changes, or alterations to Gene's design plans. Everything, set wise, was in the production process. The final Hospital Intensity Care Room set was built from the 1/2" scale foam core model Hub Braden had made for Roger Irvin's construction budget. No plan and elevation drawing existed because Steve Wolf, the set designer, had not drawn the final set plan and elevation. Steve Wolf was sent back to Studio City after two weeks because union contract required two week notice. |
| 6 | Early April, 1988, Gene called Hub Braden, to discuss that he had been asked to design "Steel Magnolias" with Herbert Ross directing, filming the movie on location in Natchitoches, Louisianna. Putting together his art department package, Gene called Lee Poll to be his set decorator. Gene advised Hub that when the production manager called, to discuss the location rate for Hub's art direction weekly fee, to not agree with a low priced fee! When Hub and the production manager connected on the telephone, Hub asked for $6,000.00 a week! An hour afterwards, Gene called from Natchotiches, with his opening line, "When did you go CRAZY?" (Beat...) "I am not getting anything close to that pay!" Hub replied, "you said not to sell out by going ... cheap!" Settling on a weekly rate, Hub joined Gene at the Natchitoches Holiday Inn, with an expensive Hertz large car rental, a "Chrysler Town Car", the largest available at the Shreeveport air terminal. Instructed by Gene, "don't get a small car! We need a big car to carry everyone who arrives for scouting and going to dinner!" The "dark cherry maroon" carriage was used for three months, until the movie's transportation captain arrived with the show's fleet of vehicles. |
| 7 | The New York theatrical "LSU Gang" of graduates included Gene, Bill Harp [CBS TV Set Decorator], John Dunaway [Otto Preminger's personal secretary, both in New York and at the Hollywood Paramount Studios' Executive Preminger office suite], Claibe Richardson [Broadway composer "The Grass Harp"], and Joanne Woodward [Broadway and film actress, who after graduating, snatched Paul Newman from his first wife while studying, sharing play rehearsal scenes, at the NY Actors Studio]. Gene donated both of his (two) Oscar statuettes to the LSU's Drama Department. |
| 8 | Twin television scenic designers, Richard and Paul Sylbert, branched into film art directing with "Baby Doll" and "Splendor In The Grass" asking Gene Callahan to be the film's set decorator. Gene's knowledge of anything Southern related to his Louisiana heritage was knowledge they both depended upon. Affer working on the films with director Eliaj Kazan, Kazan asked Gene to travel with he and his actors to Greece for filming "America, America". This film was Gene's first production design-art director credit. In New York prior to departing, Gene asked John Braden to "teach me how to draw". John delivered a graph perspective layout, showing Gene how to lay out a preliminary perspective sketch overlay, using the perspective graphic, on Gene's New York apartment kitchen island counter. Three days of morning instruction was all the time Gene had to learn some basic perspective, before departing for Athens, Greece. As John surmised, Gene had neglected to pack the perspective graphs, tissue paper, pencils and drawing tools! Arriving in Greece, scouting locations, the director, actors and Gene hand built stone walls on hill top filming locations, while the cast rehearsed their scenes and dialogue. Gene also decorated the sets, acting as a designer in total visual control co-ordinating every design aspect. Gene won an Art Direction Oscar for this project. For the Television-Oscar category presentation, the Academy requested a set sketch, which would be flashed on the screen for each nominated film. Harry Horner and Robert Boyle collaborated drawing the pencil-charcoal set sketch for Gene's "America, America" Oscar TV presentation set illustration. |
| 9 | Richard Benjamin directing the Columbia Film "Little Nikita" had Gene in his office every mid-morning, with Gene making both dialogue and story-scenario suggestions. Sitting in his trailer office, located in the rear Warner Brothers parking, adjacent the Western Street back lot area, Gene would conduct a morning meeting with his art director. Arriving in the trailer by five A.M., Gene would read, ponder, dissecting the script, and point out the "holes". After these "discussion" meetings, Gene would then meet with Richard Benjamin. When the film was finally in the editing stages, the filming company had to return to the Warner lot for pickup and insert scenes in order to fill "the holes". Benjamin apologized to Gene. The FBI office complex had been filmed on a LA office building located on Wilshire Blvd. A smaller office complex was built on a WB stage for an expository scene. Another set, a motel bathroom bath-tub/shower scene required for additional expository action. Every film Gene worked, he had a close dialogue relationship with his director, usually accepting Gene's analysis and respected suggestions. In many ways, Gene contributed his script diagnosis to the creative insights far beyond just designing scenery. |
| 10 | Because of Gene Callahan's long association with the CBS TV series "Omnibus", Gene maintained a long time friendship with Alistair Cooke. Gene was always welcomed at Alistar Cooke's residence where Gene would takeover chef duties serving his Louisianna favorite dishes. |
| 11 | Gene Callahan's early career was as a New York CBS-TV staff decorator assigned to numerous local New York City and Network shows (Omibus). Supervising prop men directing the hanging of prop paintings and pictures on the set, he would admonish a prop man for not hanging the picture correctly by telling the prop man, "now Mother would never hang that picture that way!". His Mother, from Baton Rouge, Louisianna, visited New York one week. When she visited the set in her mink stole, the crew sat her in the middle of the stage, while continuing their work, exchanging stories about their personal relationships with her son. Thereafter, Gene was christened with the nick name "Mother". |
| 12 | Gene Callahan's early career was as a New York CBS-TV staff decorator assigned to numerous local New York City and Network shows (Omibus). |
| 13 | Gene Callahan's set decorating career changed when he was hired to be the Production Designer by Elia Kazan for his location film "America, America" filmed in Greece. Since the location film was shot on exteriors, with set interiors built in studio facilities, he decorated the film sets as well. The film was nominated for an Oscar in the Art Direction category. |
$4 Million
