Don MacDonald

Early Life and Career

Born in Hollywood, Don MacDonald grew up in Downey, California, and always knew he wanted to be an artist. He studied art in high school and later attended Cerritos College. At age 23, 20th Century Fox scenic artist Gavin Cowie introduced MacDonald to J.C. Backings, where he interviewed for a position. When he first entered the scenic studio, MacDonald immediately knew he wanted to spend his career painting Hollywood backdrops.

Training and Influences

MacDonald’s on-the-job education accelerated as he assisted veteran scenic artists. His greatest influence was Jim Dobson, who simplified the backdrop painting process and made it easy to learn and apply. Dobson became known for his innovative use of carpet rollers instead of paintbrushes, allowing artists to paint large backdrops quickly and efficiently.

For the Cyndi Lauper film Vibes (1988), scenic artists painted 40-foot-high, 600-foot-long jungle backdrops using one-foot-wide rollers for nearly every element except the skies. When Don joined J.C. Backings, Ben Resella supervised the painting department and drew the original sets for Hello, Dolly!. Meanwhile, Bob Oberbeck became another important mentor, teaching MacDonald the techniques for painting realistic landscapes and skies.

Career and Legacy

Don MacDonald was the last full-time journeyman scenic artist at J.C. Backings, which operated in the historic MGM Scenic Art Studio. As one of the “lucky last,” he was trained directly in the lineage of MGM’s master scenic artists of the 1940s and 1950s.

During his 45-year career in the Hollywood motion picture industry, MacDonald painted backdrops for hundreds of feature films and television productions, including Ghostbusters (1984), Poltergeist II (1986), Vibes (1988), Hook(1991), Jurassic Park (1993), Pulp Fiction (1994), Independence Day (1996), Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997), Stuart Little (1999), The Terminal (2004), Mad Men (2015), The Hateful Eight (2015), Hail, Caesar! (2016), The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018), and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018).