Misplaced Pages

Eileen Diss: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactivelyContent deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 11:37, 10 January 2025 editGaia Octavia Agrippa (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers123,578 edits created article  Latest revision as of 18:47, 10 January 2025 edit undoGaia Octavia Agrippa (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers123,578 edits →Career: reword 
(53 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Infobox person
⚫ '''Eileen Diss''', {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|RDI}} (13 May 1931 – 5 November 2024) was a British ] for film, stage and television.<ref name="WWW">{{cite web |title=Diss, Eileen, (Mrs Raymond Everett), (13 May 1931–5 Nov. 2024), freelance designer for theatre, film and television, since 1959 |url=http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U13762 |website=] |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=10 January 2025 |language=en |date=9 December 2024}}</ref><ref name="obit Tele">{{cite news |title=Eileen Diss, set designer who won six Baftas and was a firm favourite of Harold Pinter |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2024/11/20/eileen-diss-set-designer-six-baftas-pinter-died-obituary/ |access-date=10 January 2025 |work=The Telegraph |date=20 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241121032704/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2024/11/20/eileen-diss-set-designer-six-baftas-pinter-died-obituary/ |archive-date=21 November 2024}}</ref><ref name="obit G">{{cite news |last1=Coveney |first1=Michael |title=Eileen Diss obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2024/nov/24/eileen-diss-obituary |access-date=10 January 2025 |work=The Guardian |date=24 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250110113439/https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2024/nov/24/eileen-diss-obituary |archive-date=10 January 2025}}</ref><ref name="obit Times">{{cite news |title=Eileen Diss obituary: Bafta-winning set designer |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/obituaries/article/eileen-diss-obituary-bafta-winning-set-designer-s5rqlzqtg |access-date=10 January 2025 |work=The Times |date=15 November 2024 |language=en}}</ref>
| name = Eileen Diss
| honorific_suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|RDI}}
| image = <!-- filename only, no "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and no enclosing ] -->
| alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software -->
| caption =
| birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name -->
| birth_date = 13 May 1931
| birth_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|5 November 2024|13 May 1931}}
| death_place =
| other_names =
| occupation = ]
| years_active =
| education = ]
| alma_mater = ]
| known_for =
| notable_works =
}}
'''Eileen Diss''', {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|RDI}} (13 May 1931 – 5 November 2024) was a British ] for stage, television and film. She won six ] awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award for Design from the ] in 2002, and a BAFTA Lifetime Achievement Special Craft Award in 2006.

==Early life and education==
⚫ Diss was born on 13 May 1931 in ], East London, England.<ref name="WWW">{{cite web |title=Diss, Eileen, (Mrs Raymond Everett), (13 May 1931–5 Nov. 2024), freelance designer for theatre, film and television, since 1959 |url=http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U13762 |website=] |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=10 January 2025 |language=en |date=9 December 2024}}</ref><ref name="obit G">{{cite news |last1=Coveney |first1=Michael |title=Eileen Diss obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2024/nov/24/eileen-diss-obituary |access-date=10 January 2025 |work=The Guardian |date=24 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250110113439/https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2024/nov/24/eileen-diss-obituary |archive-date=10 January 2025}}</ref> She was the only child of Thomas and Winifred Diss.<ref name="WWW" /><ref name="obit Tele">{{cite news |title=Eileen Diss, set designer who won six Baftas and was a firm favourite of Harold Pinter |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2024/11/20/eileen-diss-set-designer-six-baftas-pinter-died-obituary/ |access-date=10 January 2025 |work=The Telegraph |date=20 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241121032704/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2024/11/20/eileen-diss-set-designer-six-baftas-pinter-died-obituary/ |archive-date=21 November 2024}}</ref> She was educated at ], then an all-girls ] in ].<ref name="obit G" /><ref name="obit Times">{{cite news |title=Eileen Diss obituary: Bafta-winning set designer |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/obituaries/article/eileen-diss-obituary-bafta-winning-set-designer-s5rqlzqtg |access-date=10 January 2025 |work=The Times |date=15 November 2024 |language=en}}</ref> Aged 14, she went on a school outing to see ]'s film version of '']''.<ref name="obit Times" /> This sparked an interest in film and she began to attend the pictures every Saturday.<ref name="obit Times" /> ''Henry V'' had made a particular impression on her,<ref name="obit G" /> and its medieval set designed by ] was particularly enamouring.<ref name="obit Times" /> She would later say; "I could draw and loved history so it seemed that design was the area to go into".<ref name="obit Times" /> After leaving school, she attended the ] in London,<ref name="obit G" /> where she undertook a ] course.<ref name="obit Times" />

==Career==
In 1952, Diss joined the ]'s design department as a third assistant to the ];<ref name="obit Tele" /><ref name="obit Times" /> she was the only woman.<ref name="50 years">{{cite web |last1=Smurthwaite |first1=Nick |title=Eileen Diss: 50 years of set design |url=https://www.thestage.co.uk/features/interviews/2015/eileen-diss-50-years-set-design/ |website=The Stage |access-date=10 January 2025 |date=21 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191006002258/https://www.thestage.co.uk/features/interviews/2015/eileen-diss-50-years-set-design/ |archive-date=6 October 2019}}</ref> As there were only ten designers, after only two weeks of training, she was designing her first sets, for ''Three Little Mushrooms'', a children's programme, and an ''An American Gentleman'', a TV film staring a soon to be famous ].<ref name="obit Times" /> Initially focusing on children's programmes such as '']'' and '']'', her scope was later broadened and she worked on '']'', the first major programme to feature David Attenborough, and '']'' (1954–1957), Britain's first television soap.<ref name="obit Tele" />

Diss left the BBC in 1957<ref name="WWW" /> or 1959<ref name="50 years" />, and from then onwards worked ] in theatre, television and on film.<ref name="WWW" /><ref name="obit Tele" /> She collaborated with ] more than 20 times.<ref name="obit G" /> She specialised in ], and she could spend months acquiring suitable items of furniture, ornaments, and other background paraphernalia to create her "meticulous, poetically imagined sets".<ref name="obit G" /><ref name="obit Tele" />

In 1975, Diss was appointed ] (RDA) for "TV & Theatre Design" by the ].<ref>{{cite web |title=Current Royal Designers for Industry |url=https://www.thersa.org/about/royal-designers-for-industry/current-royal-designers-for-industry |website=The RSA |publisher=Royal Society of Arts |access-date=10 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250110154951/https://www.thersa.org/about/royal-designers-for-industry/current-royal-designers-for-industry |archive-date=10 January 2025 |language=en}}</ref> She was three times nominated for a ] (later re-named the Laurence Olivier Awards) as Designer of the Year: for ''The Family Dance'' at the Criterion Theatre in ], for ''The Homecoming'' at the Garrick in ], and '']'' at the National Theatre Lyttelton in ]. She won her first BAFTA for '']'', a TV series that ran from 1960 to 1963.<ref name="obit Tele" /> She would win five more, including one in 1992 for '']''.<ref name="obit G" /> She was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award for Design from the ] in 2002, and a BAFTA Lifetime Achievement Special Craft Award in 2006.<ref name="WWW" />

==Personal life==
In 1953, Diss married Raymond Everett.<ref name="WWW" /> He was a pilot in the ] and the with ] (BOAC).<ref name="obit G" /> Together, they had three children; one daughter and two sons.<ref name="WWW" /> Her husband predeceased her, dying in 1994, and she died on 5 November 2024, aged aged 93.<ref name="obit G" />

==Selected productions==
;Television
* '']'' (1960-1963)
* '']'' (8 episodes; 1964-1968)
* '']'' (1965)
* ] (5 episodes; 1969-1970)
* '']'' (1971)
* '']'' (1973)
* '']'' (1987)
* '']'' (1990-1993)
* '']'' (1997)
* '']'' (2000)

;Films
* ], 1972
* '']'', 1980
* ], 1983
* '']'', 1984
* '']'', 1987
* '']'', 1988


==References== ==References==
{{reflist}} {{reflist}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diss, Eileen}}
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]

Latest revision as of 18:47, 10 January 2025

Eileen DissRDI
Born13 May 1931
Died5 November 2024(2024-11-05) (aged 93)
EducationIlford County High School for Girls
Alma materCentral School of Arts and Crafts
OccupationSet designer

Eileen Diss, RDI (13 May 1931 – 5 November 2024) was a British set designer for stage, television and film. She won six BAFTA awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award for Design from the Royal Television Society in 2002, and a BAFTA Lifetime Achievement Special Craft Award in 2006.

Early life and education

Diss was born on 13 May 1931 in Leytonstone, East London, England. She was the only child of Thomas and Winifred Diss. She was educated at Ilford County High School for Girls, then an all-girls grammar school in Ilford. Aged 14, she went on a school outing to see Laurence Olivier's film version of Henry V. This sparked an interest in film and she began to attend the pictures every Saturday. Henry V had made a particular impression on her, and its medieval set designed by Carmen Dillon was particularly enamouring. She would later say; "I could draw and loved history so it seemed that design was the area to go into". After leaving school, she attended the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London, where she undertook a theatre design course.

Career

In 1952, Diss joined the BBC's design department as a third assistant to the set designers; she was the only woman. As there were only ten designers, after only two weeks of training, she was designing her first sets, for Three Little Mushrooms, a children's programme, and an An American Gentleman, a TV film staring a soon to be famous John Gregson. Initially focusing on children's programmes such as Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School and Blue Peter, her scope was later broadened and she worked on Zoo Quest, the first major programme to feature David Attenborough, and The Grove Family (1954–1957), Britain's first television soap.

Diss left the BBC in 1957 or 1959, and from then onwards worked freelance in theatre, television and on film. She collaborated with Harold Pinter more than 20 times. She specialised in period dramas, and she could spend months acquiring suitable items of furniture, ornaments, and other background paraphernalia to create her "meticulous, poetically imagined sets".

In 1975, Diss was appointed Royal Designer for Industry (RDA) for "TV & Theatre Design" by the Royal Society of Arts. She was three times nominated for a Society of West End Theatre Award (later re-named the Laurence Olivier Awards) as Designer of the Year: for The Family Dance at the Criterion Theatre in 1976, for The Homecoming at the Garrick in 1978, and Measure for Measure at the National Theatre Lyttelton in 1981. She won her first BAFTA for Maigret, a TV series that ran from 1960 to 1963. She would win five more, including one in 1992 for Jeeves and Wooster. She was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award for Design from the Royal Television Society in 2002, and a BAFTA Lifetime Achievement Special Craft Award in 2006.

Personal life

In 1953, Diss married Raymond Everett. He was a pilot in the Royal Air Force and the with British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC). Together, they had three children; one daughter and two sons. Her husband predeceased her, dying in 1994, and she died on 5 November 2024, aged aged 93.

Selected productions

Television
Films

References

  1. ^ "Diss, Eileen, (Mrs Raymond Everett), (13 May 1931–5 Nov. 2024), freelance designer for theatre, film and television, since 1959". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. 9 December 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
  2. ^ Coveney, Michael (24 November 2024). "Eileen Diss obituary". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 January 2025. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
  3. ^ "Eileen Diss, set designer who won six Baftas and was a firm favourite of Harold Pinter". The Telegraph. 20 November 2024. Archived from the original on 21 November 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
  4. ^ "Eileen Diss obituary: Bafta-winning set designer". The Times. 15 November 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
  5. ^ Smurthwaite, Nick (21 May 2015). "Eileen Diss: 50 years of set design". The Stage. Archived from the original on 6 October 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
  6. "Current Royal Designers for Industry". The RSA. Royal Society of Arts. Archived from the original on 10 January 2025. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
Categories: