Roy Oxley
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Roy Oxley (9 March 1905 – 1980) was a production designer at
BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...
who became famous after the BBC chose him to model for a photograph to be shown during their adaptation of
George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...
's novel ''
Nineteen Eighty-Four ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also published as ''1984'') is a dystopian novel and cautionary tale by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final completed book. Thematically ...
''. Oxley began working in set design in 1948, as an art decorator in the film ''
London Belongs to Me ''London Belongs to Me'' (also known as ''Dulcimer Street'') is a British film released in 1948, directed by Sidney Gilliat, and starring Richard Attenborough and Alastair Sim. It was based on the novel ''London Belongs to Me'' by Norman Collins ...
''. He also supervised the art decoration of the 1949 film, ''
Passport to Pimlico ''Passport to Pimlico'' is a 1949 British comedy film made by Ealing Studios and starring Stanley Holloway, Margaret Rutherford and Hermione Baddeley. It was directed by Henry Cornelius and written by T. E. B. Clarke. The story concerns the unea ...
''. Oxley had been working for some years as set decorator for BBC when he was chosen, as an in-house joke, to model for the character of " Big Brother" in ''Nineteen Eighty-Four''.David Ryan. '' George Orwell on Screen: Adaptations, Documentaries and Docudramas on Film and Television'', pp. 30–31 (McFarland; 2018) "Big Brother" was not actually a participating character in the programme; his face was only shown on various posters and billboards seen during the adaptation. Oxley worked at several other productions as a production designer with the BBC, including seven episodes of the
Douglas Wilmer Douglas Norman Wilmer (8 January 1920 – 31 March 2016) was an English actor, best known for playing Sherlock Holmes in the eponymous 1965 TV series. Early life Wilmer was born 8 January 1920 in Brentford, Middlesex, to Harry Bradlaugh Wilme ...
version of ''
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...
'', various episodes of ''
Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police and CID detectives in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by ...
'' and an adaptation for television of
Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer, whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Un ...
's ''
Under Milk Wood ''Under Milk Wood'' is a 1954 radio drama by Welsh people, Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. The BBC commissioned the play, which was later adapted for the stage. The first public reading was in New York City in 1953. A Under Milk Wood (1972 film), f ...
''. In 1969, he won a BAFTA Award for Production Design for his work of the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
play ''
The Portrait of a Lady ''The Portrait of a Lady'' is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in ''The Atlantic Monthly'' and '' Macmillan's Magazine'' in 1880–81 and then as a book in 1881. It is one of James's most popular novels and is regarded by cr ...
''.Television , Design in 1969
BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
(Retrieved 2 October 2022)


Personal life

He was married to Jean; they had two children.


References


External links

*
Roy Oxley
at the
British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
* http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/portrait-of-bbc-production-designer-roy-oxley-made-famous-for-playing-picture-id515819255 1905 births 1980 deaths BBC people {{UK-artist-stub