- Carl Toms
Carl Toms
OBE (born 1927-diedAugust 4 ,1999 ) was a British set and costume designer who is known for his work intheatre ,opera ,ballet , andfilm .Education
Carl Toms was born in 1927 in
Nottinghamshire ,England . His parents were bothtailor s and neither of them entirely approved of Toms' choice to work in the theatre, preferring that he become an architect. Even after he had made his name in the theatre, his mother would still ask when he intended to get "a proper job". As a teenager, Toms first studied at theMansfield College of Art inMansfield where he met and befriendedAlan Tagg , who would also become a notable stage designer. They were both greatly influenced by a young teacher fromYorkshire ,Hazel Hemsworth . Toms left Mansfield in the early 1940s to serve in theRoyal Ordnance Corps duringWorld War II . After the war, he went to theRoyal College of Art where he studied withGeorge Devine ,Michel Saint-Denis , andCecil Beaton among others. Toms left the Royal College of Art to train underMargaret "Percy" Harris at theOld Vic School in the late 1940s. During this time he also apprenticed at theEnglish Stage Company . It was Harris, however, who influenced the next major course of his life by introducing Toms toOliver Messel with whom he would eventually apprentice with from 1952 to 1957. [ [http://livedesignonline.com/mag/show_business_memoriam_carl_toms/ In Memoriam: Carl Toms ] ]Toms' first job under Messel was to make models for a penthouse suite at the
Dorchester Hotel . At the same time Messel was working on a newballet for theRoyal Opera House commissioned to mark the coronation ofQueen Elizabeth II , and three successive operas atGlyndebourne Festival , all of which Toms assisted on. Messel had a strong interest and passion for French culture which highly influenced his work. As a result Toms' work became highly influenced by French designers, painters, and musicians as well. Many of the masks and models Toms made during this period are now on display at the Theatre Museum inCovent Garden which display this influence. [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19990807/ai_n14245881 Obituary: Carl Toms | Independent, The (London) | Find Articles at BNET.com ] ]Career
After leaving Messel in 1958, Toms worked on the
opera "Susanna's Secret " for theGlyndebourne Festival and for variousWest End theatre productions. In 1960 he designed the world premiere ofBenjamin Britten 's opera "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at theAldeburgh Festival . He then worked with many English non-profit companies, including theOld Vic and theNational Theatre , where he designed sets and costumes forShakespear 's "Love's Labour's Lost ",Marlowe 's "Edward II",Neil Simon 's "Brighton Beach Memoirs ", and "The Provok'd Wife " for which Toms won aLaurence Olivier Award for design. He also worked with theRoyal Shakespeare Company , where he designed the 1989 production of the Kaufman-Hart comedy "The Man Who Came to Dinner " andJohn Osborne 's "A Patriot for Me ". Toms also worked frequently with theEnglish Stage Company . [ [http://livedesignonline.com/mag/show_business_memoriam_carl_toms/ In Memoriam: Carl Toms ] ]In 1969, Toms was appointed consultant for the Investiture of the
Prince of Wales , for which he received theOrder of the British Empire . There followed commissions to redecorate several West End theatres including the Theatre Royal, Windsor, and, most notably, the Theatre Royal, Bath, which he restored to its former glory in 1982. In 1970, Toms began to work in the American theatre and won aTony Award and aDrama Desk Award in 1975 for his production design of "Sherlock Holmes". During this time, Toms met and befriendedTom Stoppard with whom he would work frequently on plays in bothNew York andLondon productions. Toms worked with Stoppard on such plays as "Travesties ", "Night and Day", "The Real Thing", "Jumpers ", and "Hapgood " among others. Toms' more recent design works included productions of twoEdward Albee plays, "Three Tall Women " (1994) and "A Delicate Balance " (1997), and the Peter Hall production of "An Ideal Husband " (1996). [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19990807/ai_n14245881 Obituary: Carl Toms | Independent, The (London) | Find Articles at BNET.com ] ]Toms also worked on nine films during his career, including the
cult classic "One Million Years BC ", starringRaquel Welch in a fur bikini of Toms' devising; and other cave epics, including "Prehistoric Women " (1967) and "When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth "(1970). He also was the production designer for a 1968 film of "The Winter's Tale ". [ [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/47230.html Playbill News: Carl Toms, British Scenic Designer, is Dead at 72 ] ]Toms died of
emphysema onAugust 4 ,1999 inHertfordshire , England at age 72.References
###@@@KEY@@@### s-ach|awsuccession box
title=Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design
years=1974-1975
for "Sherlock Holmes"
before= none
after=Boris Aronson
for "Pacific Overtures "
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