Edward Rubin sits in a basement studio in Queens, N.Y. He slowly cuts a length of furry material. Even in the dark basement, the color is undeniably bright orange. What Rubin is constructing is no elegant feline to grace the Broadway stage in Cats, but a massive Garfield that will amuse, or frighten, children at parades.
When he heads home from the basement, he navigates through a dangerous section of Hoboken, paying extra attention when he nears his apartment, located above a “Nazi skinhead bar.” He falls asleep on his only furnishing: a mattress thrown on the floor, keeping him just inches above scuttling roaches.
Rubin didn’t expect this after graduating from Carnegie Mellon. He moved to New York hoping to become the apprentice of a great theater designer. Instead, he has spent two years unable to find steady work and is ready to go home—to Los Angeles, where he grew up.
Well-practiced from cold-calling theater designers in Manhattan, he looks for a mentor in L.A. Someone suggests he pursue Romain Johnston (A’51), who made his name as an art director in the early days of live television. Rubin ends up talking to Johnston’s wife, Gloria. The two have a pleasant conversation and she does “a huge, huge favor” for Rubin. She schedules a meeting.
“He hired me that day,” recalls Rubin. “That was the beginning of my real career.” His work on hundreds of projects has led Rubin (A’82) to four Emmy nominations for art direction, including a win in 1998. One nomination came this year for the Disney TV movie Return to Halloweentown. Although he didn’t win, he didn’t lose. “The point is to keep working and keep doing creative, wonderful projects.” — Michelle Bova (HS’07)
