John Edward Truscott (23 February 1936 – 5 September 1993) was an Australian actor, production designer, costume designer and

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

. He won two Academy Awards for his work on the 1967 film '' Camelot''.

Career

Truscott began his career in 1952 at the National Theatre, Melbourne at the age of 16. There he directed his first play, William Shakespeare's ''

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

''. 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 194 ...

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 (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