Stephen Goosson

AKA: Stephen Gooson, Stephen Goossón
0.8439

1889-03-24

Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

Biography

Stephen Goosson was Columbia Pictures' supervising art director for 25 years. A gifted artist, he is responsible for some of the most memorable sets in Hollywood history; from the oversized mansion towering over Mary Pickford in Little Lord Fauntleroy (1921) to the fun house with its hall of mirrors in The Lady from Shanghai (1947). Goosson was an architect in Detroit before starting in pictures as art director for pioneer film producer Lewis J. Selznick (father of David O. Selznick) in 1919. he went on to work for Mary Pickford Productions, Frank Lloyd, DeMille Pictures as well as Fox before being hired by Columbia, where he remained for the rest of his career. From pencil drawings to final full-scale sets and regardless of budget, his work was always extremely rich in details, and always thoroughly researched and authentically built. Nominated for five Academy Awards, Goosson won for his magnificent sets of Shangri-La for Frank Capra's Lost Horizon (1937). They collaborated on seven other pictures from Platinum Blonde (1931) to Meet John Doe (1941). Always a visionary, he was just as comfortable with simple authenticity (like the cabin in It Happened One Night (1934) where "the wall of Jericho" is erected) than with grandiose concepts (such as his - and co-art director Ralph Hammeras - futuristic New York City of 1980 in Just Imagine (1930)). It is next to impossible to imagine any of these movies without Stephen Goosson's exquisite contributions.

Crew Roles

Penitentiary
Art Direction
American Madness
Art Direction
It Happened One Night
Art Direction
Lost Horizon
Art Direction
The Lady from Shanghai
Art Direction
Gilda
Art Direction
Beyond Tomorrow
Art Direction
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Art Direction
Platinum Blonde
Art Direction
The Man from Colorado
Art Direction
Over 21
Art Direction
She Married an Artist
Art Direction
There's Always a Woman
Art Direction
The Wreck of the Hesperus
Art Direction
Let 'Er Go Gallegher
Art Direction
Midnight Madness
Art Direction
Skyscraper
Art Direction
A Blonde for a Night
Art Direction
Tenth Avenue
Art Direction
The Mating of Millie
Art Direction
The Little Foxes
Art Direction
The Black Room
Art Direction
See Here, Private Hargrove
Assistant Art Director
The Return of October
Art Direction
Lady for a Day
Art Direction
Bathing Beauty
Art Direction
The Loves of Carmen
Art Direction
Renegades
Art Direction
The Patent Leather Kid
Art Direction
You Can't Take It with You
Art Direction
The Sea Hawk
Art Direction
She Married Her Boss
Art Direction
Meet Me on Broadway
Art Direction
Brief Moment
Art Direction
Theodora Goes Wild
Art Direction
Down to Earth
Art Direction
Within the Law
Art Direction
Just Imagine
Set Decoration
The Awful Truth
Art Direction
Adventure in Manhattan
Art Direction
More Than a Secretary
Art Direction
One Night of Love
Art Direction
The Swordsman
Art Direction
The Black Arrow
Art Direction
Oliver Twist
Art Direction
Meet John Doe
Art Direction
She Couldn't Take It
Art Direction
Tonight and Every Night
Art Direction
The Thrill of Brazil
Art Direction
She Wouldn't Say Yes
Art Direction
Kiss and Tell
Art Direction
Together Again
Art Direction
You May Be Next!
Art Direction
Love Me Forever
Art Direction
The Eternal Flame
Art Direction
The Love Light
Art Direction
Through The Back Door
Art Direction
Little Lord Fauntleroy
Art Direction
Holiday
Art Direction
Gallant Journey
Art Direction
Her Husband's Affairs
Art Direction
The Trespasser
Art Direction
The King Steps Out
Art Direction
The Return of Monte Cristo
Art Direction
The Fuller Brush Man
Art Direction
Framed
Art Direction
Man's Castle
Art Direction
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Assistant Art Director
The Jolson Story
Art Direction
Oh, for a Man!
Art Direction
Pennies from Heaven
Art Direction
Crime and Punishment
Art Direction
Mr. District Attorney
Art Direction
The Man from Down Under
Assistant Art Director
Swing Fever
Assistant Art Director
It Had to Be You
Art Direction
Counter-Attack
Art Direction
Craig's Wife
Art Direction
Johnny O'Clock
Art Direction
A Feather in Her Hat
Art Direction
Keep Your Powder Dry
Art Direction
Murder in Greenwich Village
Art Direction
If You Could Only Cook
Art Direction
Such Men Are Dangerous
Settings
Party Wire
Art Direction
The Sign of the Ram
Art Direction
Dead Reckoning
Art Direction
It Happened in Hollywood
Art Direction
Man-Made Women
Art Direction
I Love Trouble
Art Direction
Life Begins with Love
Art Direction
Woman in Distress
Art Direction
The Dangerous Maid
Art Direction
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