Garvin Eddy

Production Designer

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

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About

About this interview

In his three-hour interview, Garvin Eddy talks about his early years, and his very first experience on a television show set, when he visited Maude to talk to Edward Stephenson. He recalls being Stephenson's assistant in the art department on several Norman Lear shows including Sanford and Son and Good Times, as well as his first solo assignment as production designer on the Beatrice Arthur comedy Amanda's. He chronicles his time in the art department on the Witt/Thomas/Harris productions Soap and Benson, which led to his being the production designer on The Cosby Show. He details the many aspects of production design, including the importance of collaboration with the director, producers, and star. He discusses production designing for several other series, including Roseanne, Grace Under Fire, Cybill, 3rd Rock From the Sun, and That '70s Show. He concludes with a summation of his career and advice to aspiring television production designers. Stephen J. Abramson conducted the interview on May 21, 2010 in North Hollywood, CA.

"The production designer is responsible for everything you see on the screen that doesn't move. What is this world that these writers have created in their minds and have written about? And how do you make that into a real, three-dimensional living thing that actors move into? It's our job to bring that to life."

People Talking About ...

Garvin Eddy

Highlights

Garvin Eddy on production designing for Good Times

Garvin Eddy on designing the Huxtable residence on The Cosby Show and working with Bill Cosby

Garvin Eddy on choosing the afghan and sofa on Roseanne

Garvin Eddy on designing the junkyard on Sanford and Son, and on the junk or things around the set defining the characters

Garvin Eddy on production designing for Grace Under Fire starring Brett Butler and produced by Chuck Lorre

Garvin Eddy on Roseanne Barr's conflicts with the producers of Roseanne

Full Interview

Chapter 1

On his early life and influences; on television he watched as a kid; on visiting the set of Maude

On working in the art department as an assistant to Edward Stephenson for shows including Maude and Sanford & Son; on going from assistant to collaborator with Edward Stephenson on Amanda's, Victory at Entebbe, and other shows; on the role of a production designer or art director

On the importance of production designers doing research; on choosing the afghan and sofa on Roseanne; on making sets look unique and non-generic

On what he learned from his mentor Edward Stephenson; on the look of the Norman Lear shows he assistant art directed early in his career; on designing the junkyard on Sanford and Son, and on the junk or things around the set defining the characters

On how the set of Maude reflected the character of "Maude Findlay" played by Beatrice Arthur; on production designing for Good Times; on the logistics and budgets on production designing for sitcoms in the 1970s

Chapter 2

On going to work in production design for Witt-Thomas-Harris productions with the series Soap; on production designing for Benson, a spinoff of Soap; on his first non-assistant production design job on the Beatrice Arthur series Amanda's (misidentified here as "Amanda's By the Sea")

On being hired as production designer for The Cosby Show; on designing the Huxtable residence on The Cosby Show and working with Bill Cosby; on his schedule during the run of The Cosby Show

On the number of sets for The Cosby Show, and on the evolution of and mood on the set; on favorite episodes or memories of The Cosby Show; on collaborating with the producers and directors of The Cosby Show, and on the budget of the show

On the legacy of The Cosby Show; on production designing for A Different World starring Lisa Bonet; on production designing for Roseanne

On how his sets may have contributed the success of Roseanne; on working with Roseanne Barr on Roseanne; on the most important, key pieces of the Roseanne set

On Roseanne Barr's conflicts with the producers of Roseanne; on being nominated for an Emmy Award for Roseanne; on staying with the show for its entire run

Chapter 3

On the evolution of the title from art director to production designer; on becoming vice president of production design for the Carsey-Werner Company; on production designing for Grace Under Fire, and on the challenges of designing for the show; on working with Chuck Lorre

On dealing with product placement as a production designer; on production designing for Cybill starring Cybill Shepherd

On production designing for 3rd Rock From the Sun starring John Lithgow and Jane Curtin; on production designing for That '70s Show, and on the challenge of doing a period piece

On production designing for the John Goodman show Normal, Ohio and Sunny with a Chance; on what a producer needs to know about the production designer they're working with, and on their collaboration

On the most important developments in the technology or technique of production design; on the then-current state of production design on television; on the essential elements that make a production design work

On the importance of a production designer understanding what the camera sees, and on the challenge HDTV presented; on advice to aspiring production designers; on career highlights, and how he would like to be remembered

Shows

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Garvin Eddy

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Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

3rd Rock From the Sun

Amanda's

Benson

Cosby Show, The

Cybill

Different World, A

Emmy Awards, The (Primetime and Daytime)

Good Times

Grace Under Fire

Maude

Normal, Ohio

Roseanne

Sanford and Son

Soap

Sonny with a Chance

That '70s Show

Victory at Entebbe

Advice

Creative Influences and Inspiration

Emmy Awards

Pivotal Career Moments

Technological Innovation

Television Industry

Art Director/Set Decorator

Designers

Production Designer

Comedy Series

Beatrice Arthur

Brett Butler

Marcy Carsey

Bill Cosby

Redd Foxx

Norman Lear

Chuck Lorre

Roseanne

Cybill Shepherd

Tony Thomas

Tom Werner

Paul Junger Witt

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