Tony Walton, legendary British costume designer, set/scenic designer and production designer who won an Oscar for his work All That Jazz and the Tony Award for Pippin, House of green leaves and the revival of Boy and Doll, has died. He was 87 years old.
According to Emma Walton Hamilton, his daughter with Julie Andrews, Walton passed away Wednesday night in New York in his Upper West Side apartment from complications from a stroke. The Hollywood Reporter.
Walton has also collected Oscar nominations for his costume work Mary Poppins (1964) – he was married to the star of the film, his childhood sweetheart, Andrews, from 1959 until their divorce in 1968 – and Murder on the Orient Express (1974) and for his contributions to the costume and design of Diana Ross in the lead role The Wiz (1978).
Additionally, Walton received an Emmy for his art direction on telefilm in 1985 Salesman’s Deathstarring Dustin Hoffman.
He was inducted into the Theater of Fame in 1991 and received a lifetime achievement award from the Art Directors Association in 2012.
Walton, who also worked on Broadway in Golden Boy, Chicago, A Day in Hollywood / A Night in Ukraine, Woman of the year, Stylish lady, Anything goes, I’m not Rappaport, big hotel, The Will Rogers Follies and Uncle Vanyaamong others, has received 16 Tony noms during his spectacular career.
Born on October 24, 1934 in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, Walton was the son of a surgeon. He trained at the Slade School of the Arts in London in the mid-50s and served as a pilot for the Royal Air Force in Canada. His first design project was the off-Broadway revival of Noël Coward’s . Conversation in 1957.
Walton made his Broadway debut in 1961 as a costume and landscape designer on There was once a Russian, starring Walter Matthau. It opened and closed on the same night, but his luck improved the following year when he landed on Stephen Sondheim’s A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum.
His acting resume also includes the big screen version of that play as well Fahrenheit 451 (1966), Petulia (1968), Equus (1977), Deathtrap (1982) and About Henry (1991).
He described his work history in a 2008 interview with Playbill.
“I try to read the script or listen to the music as if it were a radio show and not allow myself to be rushed,” he says. “Then, after meeting with the director – and if I’m lucky as a screenwriter – and any input they might want to offer, I try to imagine what I see as if it were is gradually being revealed by an area of light.
“I try to understand the palette – and the feel of it – whether it’s crispy or soft, whatever the flavor may be, before I learn about any of the essential nuts and bolts. All in all, of course, that’s the best way to tell the story. “
In addition to his daughter, survivors include his wife, Genevieve LeRoy Walton, stepdaughter Bridget LeRoy and five grandchildren.
