John Edward Truscott (23 February 1936 – 5 September 1993) was an Australian

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

production designer In film and television, a production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Work ...

costume designer A costume designer is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show. The role of the costume designer is to create the characters' outfits or costumes and balance the scenes with texture and colour, etc. The costum ...

and

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...

. He won two

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

for his work on the 1967 film '' Camelot''.

Career

Truscott began his career in 1952 at the

National Theatre, Melbourne The National Theatre is a 783-seat Australian theatre and theatrical arts school located in the Melbourne bayside suburb of St Kilda, on the corner of Barkly and Carlisle Streets. The building was constructed in 1921 as The Victory Theatre (3000 ...

at the age of 16. There he directed his first play,

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

''. In the 1960s he worked internationally on films in London, Rome, and Paris. In 1967 he won the

Academy Award for Best Costume Design The Academy Award for Best Costume Design is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for achievement in film costume design. The award was first given in 1949, for films made in 1948 ...

and the Academy Award for Best Art Direction for '' Camelot''; a film adaptation of the 1960 musical of the same name by Lerner and Loewe. In the 1980s, he was brought in to complete the interior designs for the theatre complex of the

Victorian Arts Centre Arts Centre Melbourne, originally known as the Victorian Arts Centre and briefly called the Arts Centre, is a performing arts centre consisting of a complex of theatres and concert halls in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, located in the central M ...

(VAC) begun by Sir Roy Grounds. He also designed the exteriors for World Expo 88 in Brisbane. In the 1985 Queen's Birthday Honours Truscott was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia. He was the second Artistic Director of the Melbourne Festival, a position he was in from 1988 through 1991. At the time of his death in 1993 during heart surgery he was artist-in-residence at the VAC.

Private life

Melbourne fashion designer and founding editor of '' Vogue Australia'' Sheila Scotter claimed to have had a 13-year relationship with him.Guinness, Daphne (14 March 1998), "Late Knight Confessions", Sydney Morning Herald, Spectrum, p. 4s She claimed he was bisexual who practised only his straight side. Scotter also claimed that Truscott had an affair with Vanessa Redgrave while working together on ''Camelot''. Truscott is buried in the Dandenongs near Melbourne, and Sheila Scotter is buried next to him.McGinness, Mark (13 April 2012)
Mark McGinness, "'Silver duchess' cut a swath through society's upper crust"
''The Age'', 13 April 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2014

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Truscott, John 1936 births 1993 deaths Australian production designers Australian costume designers Best Art Direction Academy Award winners Best Costume Design Academy Award winners Officers of the Order of Australia