Stony Brook University Grad Wins Oscar

What proved to be a big night for "The Artist" in Hollywood was also a pretty big win for Stony Brook University.

Class of 1983 graduate Mark Bridges earned an Oscar for Best Achievement in Costume Design for his work on the film "The Artist." The film was the star of the night, picking up awards for best picture, best actor, best director and best original score in addition to the costume award. The period film focused on one silent films actor and his struggles with adapting to the rise of the talking motion pictures industry.

The film was also set in black-and-white, which meant costumes had to rely more on texture than color, Bridges told the LA Times in December.

"It was all about whether there was enough separation in tone because once it goes to black and white, it's mush. You lose definition," he said in the interview.

According to a statement from the University, Bridges joined Barbara Matera Costumes in New York City after graduating Stony Brook. He later worked on films including "There Will Be Blood," "The Fighter," "Greenberg," and "Yes Man."

“There wasn't a show at Stony Brook (whether he was acting in it or not) where you wouldn't find Mark up in the costume shop designing costumes, doing fittings or sewing something together for a production, said Staller Center Director Alan Inkles, a former classmate of Bridges.

"He was an absolute perfectionist in everything he did."