John Edward Truscott AO (23 February 1936 – 5 September 1993[1]) was an Australian actor, production designer, costume designer and artistic director. He won two Academy Awards for his work on the 1967 film Camelot.[2]

John Truscott

Born(1936-02-23)23 February 1936
Melbourne, Australia
Died5 September 1993(1993-09-05) (aged 57)
Melbourne, Australia
Occupation(s)Actor
Production designer
Costume designer
Interior designer
Artistic director
Years active1967–1977

Career edit

Truscott began his career in 1952 at the National Theatre, Melbourne at the age of 16.[1] There he directed his first play, William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.[1] In the 1960s he worked internationally on films in London, Rome, and Paris.[1] In 1967 he won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design 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.[1]

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.[1] He also designed the exteriors for World Expo 88 in Brisbane.[1] In the 1985 Queen's Birthday Honours Truscott was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia.[3] He was the second Artistic Director of the Melbourne Festival, a position he was in from 1988 through 1991.[1] At the time of his death in 1993 during heart surgery he was artist-in-residence at the VAC.[1]

Private life edit

Melbourne fashion designer and founding editor of Vogue Australia Sheila Scotter claimed to have had a 13-year relationship with him.[4] 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.[4]

Truscott is buried in the Dandenongs near Melbourne, and Sheila Scotter is buried next to him.[5]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Obituaries: John Truscott". Variety. 20 September 1993. p. 42.
  2. ^ "The 40th Academy Awards (1968) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  3. ^ "John Edward Truscott". Australian Honours Search Facility, Dept of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  4. ^ a b Guinness, Daphne (14 March 1998), "Late Knight Confessions", Sydney Morning Herald, Spectrum, p. 4s
  5. ^ 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