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

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

production designer In film and television, the 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. Wo ...

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 costume ...

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 The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for his work on the 1967 film ''

Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as the ...

''.

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 ( 26 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 natio ...

'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 ...

''. 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 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 ...

for ''

''; a film adaptation of the 1960 musical of the same name by

Lerner and Loewe Lerner and Loewe refers to the partnership between lyricist and librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe.Kenny, Ellen, and James M. Salem. “A Guide to Critical Reviews, Part II: The Musical from Rodgers-and-Hart to Lerner-and-Loe ...

. 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 Sir Roy Burman Grounds (18 December 19052 March 1981) was an Australian architect. His early work included buildings influenced by the Moderne movement of the 1930s, and his later buildings of the 50s and 60s, such as the National Gallery of V ...

. He also designed the exteriors for

World Expo 88 World Expo 88, also known as Expo 88, was a specialised Expo held in Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia, during a six-month period between Saturday, 30 April 1988 and Sunday, 30 October 1988, inclusive. The theme of the Expo ...

in Brisbane. In the

1985 Queen's Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supplements t ...

Truscott was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia. He was the second Artistic Director of the

Melbourne Festival Melbourne International Arts Festival, formerly Spoleto Festival Melbourne – Festival of the Three Worlds, then Melbourne International Festival of the Arts, becoming commonly known as Melbourne Festival, was a major international arts festi ...

, 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 ''Vogue'' ''Australia'' is the Australian edition of ''Vogue'' magazine. ''Vogue Australia'' became the 4th edition of Vogue in 1959 after '' Vogue'', '' British Vogue'' and '' Vogue Paris''. Prior to becoming a stand-alone issue, the Australian e ...

'' 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 Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress and activist. Throughout her career spanning over seven decades, Redgrave has garnered numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Television Award, two ...

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