ARTIST HAD LONG HOLLYWOOD CAREER, WORKED ON 'SCARFACE'
Deadline reported this week that Jaroslav “Jerry” Gebr, a highly sought-after artist who worked in film and television for over 50 years, passed away last month at the age of 86, after a long illness. It was during his time at Universal Studios that Gebr, according to Thomas Gebr, worked on Brian De Palma's Scarface, presumably painting the portrait on display in the still above. Gebr may have done more than just portrait work on Scarface, as well, since he could mimic many styles, and also did murals, story boards, and various types of illustrations. He was still at Universal when De Palma and Al Pacino re-teamed for Carlito's Way at that studio.
Gebr is said to have been commissioned to paint replicas of beloved works of art for many in Hollywood. "They’d put the originals in safe storage and hang Jerry’s versions on the wall," his son-in-law Kevin McMahon told Deadline. "Nobody could ever tell the difference."
In 1966, Gebr painted a full-scale replica of Michelangelo´s Sistine Chapel for the film Shoes of the Fisherman. That same year, he created paintings for the pilot episode of his friend Rod Serling's Night Gallery (for which the Deadline obituary states that Gebr is perhaps best known). Gebr also did the memorable Norman Rockwell-ish titles and story chapter works for George Roy Hill's The Sting. According to Gebr.art, he painted a western scene on a semi-truck trailer in Smokey And The Bandit, and completed portrait work for Alfred Hitchcock Presents, "and all works delivered within a film production window of one to two weeks." Gebr also worked on David Lynch's Dune, and Robert Wise's The Sound Of Music, among countless others.
Updated: Sunday, March 24, 2013 12:16 AM CDT
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