Roger McDonald (1905-1960) was born in Manila in the Philippines, but within a few months, his parents returned to Vallejo, California. In 1918, he began making posters and showcards for various businesses and in 1920 began attending summer sessions at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco. While working at a sign shop in Vallejo, he joined the Boilermaker’s Union since there wasn’t a painters’ union in town. In 1924, he moved to Berkeley and did freelance work for various companies such as Shell Oil and in 1928 was appointed art director at the Honig Cooper Company in San Francisco. In 1929, he married Mildred Anne Pearce and in 1931, they moved to New York City when he became an art director for the department store Bonwit Teller. In 1938, he transitioned to the film industry by starting work as a story illustrator for Selznick Pictures which included uncredited work on GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) and REBECCA (1940). He went on to work for British producer Alexander Korda, Samuel Goldwyn Productions, R. K. O., Universal, and Twentieth Century-Fox. As a member of the executive board of the Screen Set Designers, Illustrators and Decorators (Local 1421), he played a leadership role in the Hollywood studio strikes of 1945-1947, which included spending six weeks coordinating strikes in New York City in 1945 while his wife participated in strikes in Hollywood. In 1946, McDonald left Twentieth Century-Fox to work on ARCH OF TRIUMPH (1948) at Enterprise Studios, while still doing freelance artwork and staying involved with the ongoing labor disputes. He initially worked on the film CHRIST IN CONCRETE [1949; later released as GIVE US THIS DAY or SALT TO THE DEVIL], but the production was shut down due to financial difficulties and was later made in England. For the remainder of his career, he went back and forth between advertising work for firms such as Douglas Aircraft and working on films including SPLIT SECOND (1953) and I, THE JURY (1953).