- Under contract at Paramount (1920-1922); MGM (1924-1925); Fox (1930-1931).
- Came to films via William Randolph Hearst. Hearst wanted a more polished look to the films starring his mistress, Marion Davies.
- Came to prominence as set designer for the Ziegfeld Follies from 1915 to 1932.
- In addition to his set design work for Cosmopolitan, Urban oversaw the rebuilding of Cosmopolitan-International Studios after it was damaged by a fire in 1923.
- According to biographers Leon Barsacq and Elliott Stein, Urban was so well known as an architect and designer at the time he began working for William Randolph Hearst's Cosmopolitan Productions, that he was probably the only household name working as a film designer during the early 1920s.
- One of the first film art directors to receive on-screen credit for their work.
- Emigrated to the U.S. in 1912.
- Father of Gretl Urban Thurlow.
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