Gene Callahan (November 7, 1923—December 26, 1990) was an Americanart director as well asset andproduction designer who contributed to over fifty films and more than a thousand TV episodes. He received nominations for theBritish Academy Film Award and fourOscars, including two wins (in 1962 and 1964).
Callahan was a prolific contributor to early television, starting with the first full-schedule broadcast season in 1948–49. He worked on numerous live shows duringTV's Golden Age and continued with filmed episodes through the late 1950s and early 60s. His first film as set decorator was 1959'sThe Fugitive Kind, and his fourth assignment, 1961's black-and-whiteThe Hustler brought him his firstAcademy Award. 1964 was a banner year for him with two Oscar nominations—The Cardinal in the color category andAmerica America in the category of black-and-white films, with the latter winning him his second Oscar. Unlike the 1962 win forThe Hustler, which he shared with production designerHarry Horner or his shared nomination forThe Cardinal with production designerLyle R. Wheeler, the award forAmerica America, was his alone.Elia Kazan's acclaimed epic set in turn-of-the-centuryGreece andTurkey was nominated forBest Picture andBest Director, but it was Callahan's epic production values that won the film's only Oscar.
Gene Callahan's professional relationship with Elia Kazan began two years beforeAmerica America and extended to four of Kazan's final five films. The first title, 1961'sSplendor in the Grass, which introducedWarren Beatty to the screen and won anOscar forWilliam Inge's screenplay, credited Callahan as the set decorator. Eight years later, he was the production designer for Kazan's next film afterAmerica, America, 1969'sThe Arrangement, which received almost entirely negative reviews and no Oscar nominations. He did not work on Kazan's next production, 1972'sThe Visitors, another poorly accepted title, but five years later, in 1977, there was one more Oscar nomination for Gene Callahan.The Last Tycoon, Elia Kazan's final directorial effort assigned him the task of recreating 1920s Hollywood as it was portrayed inF. Scott Fitzgerald's last, unfinished novel which reimagined the period setting and its driven, doomed protagonist, anIrving Thalberg-like movie producer, portrayed byRobert De Niro. The nomination (shared with art directorJack T. Collis and set decoratorJerry Wunderlich) was the only one given by the Academy to the film, which in addition to a mixture of good, tepid and negative reviews, was burdened by weak publicity and box office returns.
Gene Callahan died of aheart attack at his home in Baton Rouge, seven weeks after his 67th birthday. His final film,The Man in the Moon, a touching coming-of-age story filmed, as in the case ofSteel Magnolias, in Natchitoches as well as Louisiana'sKisatchie National Forest, was released in October 1991, nearly a year after his death.
