Leslie Dilley (11 January 1941 – 20 May 2025) was a Welsh

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

and

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 ...

. During his film career from the 1970s to 2000s, he won the

Academy Award for Best Art Direction The Academy Award for Best Production Design recognizes achievement for art direction in film. The category's original name was Best Art Direction, but was changed to its current name in 2012 for the 85th Academy Awards. This change resulted fr ...

twice for '' Star Wars Episode IV - A New Hope'' (1977) and ''

Raiders of the Lost Ark ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. Set in 1936, the film stars Harrison Ford as Indiana ...

'' (1981), sharing this both times with

Norman Reynolds Norman William Reynolds (26 March 1934 – 2 April 2023) was a British production designer and art director, best known for his work on the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy and ''Raiders of the Lost Ark''. Early life and education Reynolds was b ...

. Dilley received additional Best Art Direction nominations for '' Alien'' (1979), ''

The Empire Strikes Back ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic film, epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based o ...

'' (1980), and ''

The Abyss ''The Abyss'' is a 1989 American science fiction film written and directed by James Cameron and starring Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Michael Biehn. When an American submarine sinks in the Caribbean, a US search and recovery tea ...

'' (1989). Apart from art direction, Dilley was a production designer for ''

The Exorcist III ''The Exorcist III'' is a 1990 American supernatural psychological horror film written for the screen and directed by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1983 novel '' Legion''. It is the third installment in ''The Exorcist'' film series and t ...

'' (1990), '' Casper'' (1995), and '' Deep Impact'' (1998).

Early life and education

Dilley was born in

Rhondda Valley Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( ), is a former coal mining, coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley (, 'la ...

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

on 11 January 1941. Growing up, Dilley and his family moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and lived in

Wembley Park Wembley Park is a district of the London Borough of Brent, England. It is roughly centred on Bridge Road, a mile northeast of Wembley town centre and northwest from Charing Cross. The name Wembley Park refers to the area that, at its broad ...

. For his post-secondary education, Dilley studied architecture at Willesden Technical College. While working as an apprentice

plasterer A plasterer is a tradesman who works with plaster, such as forming a layer of plaster on an interior wall or plaster decorative moldings on ceilings or walls. The process of creating plasterwork, called plastering, has been used in buildin ...

during college, Dilley was encouraged by a classmate to apply for a job at

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to t ...

. After Pinewood told him there were no open positions available, Dilley completed a five year plastering apprenticeship at the

Associated British Picture Corporation Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), originally British International Pictures (BIP), was a British film production, distribution and exhibition company active from 1927 until 1970 when it was absorbed into EMI. ABPC also owned appr ...

Career

At the ABPC, Dilley began his career as a

drafter A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British English, British and English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman, drafting technician, or CAD technician in American English, American and Canadia ...

throughout the 1960s. While working as an Assistant Art Director during the early 1970s, Dilley became an

for ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' () is a French historical adventure novel written and published in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in col ...

'' (1973). His art director tenure continued throughout the 1970s and 1980s with films such as ''

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

'' (1978), ''

An American Werewolf in London ''An American Werewolf in London'' is a 1981 comedy horror film written and directed by John Landis. An international co-production of the United Kingdom and the United States, the film stars David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne and ...

'' (1981) and ''

Never Say Never Again ''Never Say Never Again'' is a 1983 spy film directed by Irvin Kershner. The film is based on the 1961 James Bond novel ''Thunderball (novel), Thunderball'' by Ian Fleming, which in turn was based on an original story by Kevin McClory, Jack Wh ...

'' (1983). Outside of these movies, Dilley won the

for ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

'' (1977) and ''

'' (1981). He additionally received Academy Award nominations for his art directorship on '' Alien'' (1979), ''

'' (1980), and ''

'' (1989). During the 1990s to 2000s, Dilley primarily worked as a

. Some of his production works during these decades include ''

'' (1990), '' Casper'' (1995), ''

Inspector Gadget ''Inspector Gadget'' is a media franchise that began in 1983 with the DIC Entertainment animated television series '' Inspector Gadget''. Since the original series, there have been many spin-offs based on the show, including additional animated ...

'' (1999), ''

Son of the Mask ''Son of the Mask'' is a 2005 superhero comedy film directed by Lawrence Guterman. A sequel to '' The Mask'' (1994), it is the second film in ''The Mask'' franchise, an adaptation of the comic book series of the same name by Dark Horse Comics ...

'' (2005) and ''

Little Man Little Man may refer to: Characters * The Little Man (''The Pink Panther''), a recurring character in ''The Pink Panther'' cartoons * Clayton Chester "Little Man" Logan, from the novel ''Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry'' * Wintell "Little Man" Royc ...

'' (2006). Dilley also made cameo appearances in his production designed films, including '' Deep Impact'' (1998) and ''

Pay It Forward Pay it forward is an expression for describing the beneficiary of a good deed repaying the kindness to others rather than paying it back to the original benefactor. It is also called serial reciprocity. The concept is old, but the particular ph ...

'' (2000).

Death

Dilley died from complications of Alzheimer's disease on 20 May 2025, at the age of 84.

Selected filmography

Dilley won two Academy Awards for Best Art Direction and was nominated for three more: ;Won * ''

'' (1977) * ''

'' (1981) ;Nominated * '' Alien'' (1979) * ''

'' (1980) * ''

'' (1989)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dilley, Leslie 1941 births 2025 deaths Welsh art directors British film designers Best Art Direction Academy Award winners People from Rhondda