Roger Kemble Furse (11 September 1903 – 19 August 1972) was an English painter who worked as a

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

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 ...

for both stage and film.

Career

Roger Furse was the son of

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Sir

William Furse Lieutenant General Sir William Thomas Furse, (21 April 1865 – 31 May 1953) was a senior British Army officer who served as Master-General of the Ordnance during the First World War. Early life and family Furse was born in Staines-upon-Thames, ...

and Jean Adelaide Evans-Gordon. He was educated at St George's School, Windsor Castle, at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and at the

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

in London. Furse began working as a stage designer in 1934, but he did not work on films until the early 1940s. At the outbreak of World War II, he joined the navy. In 1943, he was granted a temporary release to design the costumes and armour for

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

's film version of Shakespeare's ''Henry V'' (1944). In 1945, at the end of the war, he was reunited with Olivier at the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

company in London. In 1946, he created the sets for the ballet ''

Adam Zero ''Adam Zero'' is a ballet with music composed by Arthur Bliss and choreographed by Robert Helpmann in 1946. Background After World War I, Bliss developed an interest in ballet after seeing the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev in London. Bl ...

'' at the

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

. Furse became a frequent collaborator with Olivier on both stage and screen, often on Shakespearean productions. He won two Oscars in 1949, one each for his

art direction 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 super ...

and

costume design Costume design is the process of selecting or creating clothing for a performers. A costume may be designed from scratch or may be designed by combining existing garments. "Costume" may also refer to the style of dress particular to a nation, a ...

of Olivier's film version of ''Hamlet'' (1948)."Hamlet" @ Awards Databases He also worked with Olivier on his films ''Richard III'' (1955) and ''

The Prince and the Showgirl ''The Prince and the Showgirl'' (originally titled '' The Sleeping Prince'') is a 1957 British romantic comedy film starring Marilyn Monroe and Laurence Olivier, who also served as director and producer. The screenplay written by Terence Rattig ...

'' (1957). His other film credits include ''

Odd Man Out ''Odd Man Out'' is a 1947 British film noir directed by Carol Reed, and starring James Mason, Robert Newton, Cyril Cusack, and Kathleen Ryan. Set in Belfast, Northern Ireland, it follows a wounded Nationalist leader who attempts to evade pol ...

'' (1947), ''

Ivanhoe ''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' ( ) by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in December 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. It marked a shift away from Scott's prior practice of setting stories in Scotland and in the more ...

'' (1952), ''

Knights of the Round Table The Knights of the Round Table (, , ) are the legendary knights of the fellowship of King Arthur that first appeared in the Matter of Britain literature in the mid-12th century. The Knights are a chivalric order dedicated to ensuring the peace ...

'' (1953), ''

Helen of Troy Helen (), also known as Helen of Troy, or Helen of Sparta, and in Latin as Helena, was a figure in Greek mythology said to have been the most beautiful woman in the world. She was believed to have been the daughter of Zeus and Leda (mythology), ...

'' (1956), '' Saint Joan'' (1957) and ''

The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone ''The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone'' is a 1961 British romantic drama film made by Warner Bros. The film stars Vivien Leigh and Warren Beatty. It was directed by José Quintero and produced by Louis de Rochemont with Lothar Wolff as associate ...

'' (1961). In 1959 Furse went to Hollywood (in the company of Olivier)

Peter Ustinov Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, director and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits for much of his career. Ustinov received #Awa ...

''Dear Me'' (William Heinemann • London • 1977) p270 as production designer on ''

Spartacus Spartacus (; ) was a Thracians, Thracian gladiator (Thraex) who was one of the Slavery in ancient Rome, escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major Slave rebellion, slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Historical accounts o ...

'' (1960), but he did not receive a screen credit for his work.

, who was also working on the film, described Furse as 'a delightful bearded figure'. He was nominated for a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

in 1961 for his set design of the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

hit drama, '' Duel of Angels''.

Family

Roger Furse's first wife was

Margaret Furse Margaret Furse (born Alice Margaret Watts, 18 February 1911 – 8 July 1974) was a British costume designer. She has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design six times, winning for ''Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1969). ...

(''nee'' Watts), who was also an

Academy Award 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 ...

-winning costume designer. His portrait of her is included in the permanent collection of the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

in London. His second wife was Ines Sylvia Perg. Their marriage lasted until his death in 1972. She died in 1986. He did not have any children from either of his marriages. The actress

Judith Furse Judith Furse (4 March 1912 – 29 August 1974) was an English actress. Career She was a member of the Furse family; her father was Lieutenant-General Sir William Furse and mother Jean Adelaide Furse. Her brother, Roger, became a stage desig ...

was his younger sister.

References

External links

* *
Roger Furse
in

AusStage AusStage: The Australian Live Performance Database is an online database which records information about live performances in Australia, providing records of productions from the first recorded performance in Australia (1789, by convicts) up unt ...

W.H. Crain Costume and Scene Design Collection
at the

Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center, known as the Humanities Research Center until 1983, is an archive, library, and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Furse, Roger Kemble 1903 births 1972 deaths Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art Best Art Direction Academy Award winners Best Costume Design Academy Award winners English expatriates in the United States English art directors English costume designers Military personnel from Kent People educated at Eton College People educated at St George's School, Windsor Castle People from Ightham Royal Navy personnel of World War II