Expressing boredom on the set of Antony and Cleopatra, Charlton Heston told Wendy Dickson: “Let’s go for a drive, instead”.
Wendy Dickson was a costume designer who worked on numerous theatre and screen productions, including work at the Sydney Opera House and costume design on the set ofBorn in Broken Hill just days before the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Wendy was the third of four girls. In 1938, aged six, Wendy and her family moved from the outback mining town to Sydney, where her father, William Dickson, became a leading figure in the ALP, a member of the legislative council, and a government minister.
Wendy left school in the late 1940s after deciding not to follow her mother’s advice that she should go to university to study architecture. Instead, she went to the Julian Ashton Art School, located at The Rocks, where she met John Olsen, among others, and then to East Sydney Technical College. In the early 1950s, Wendy moved to London, where she studied at the Central School of Art and Design alongside figures such as David Hockney. She shared her passion for theatre with her eldest sister, Dorothy Alison, who helped her settle into London life.
From 1959 to 1967, she was resident designer with the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust, starting with the groundbreaking 1959 production ofby the American playwright Eugene O’Neill. In this period, Wendy designed sets and costumes for 18 assorted productions, ranging from ballet and theatre to grand opera. She also taught stage design at East Sydney Tech at this time.
Travelling regularly to keep up to date with design trends, Wendy found herself in Los Angeles in 1971, She had to see Charlton Heston to get feedback about his costume for. After a few minutes with the script, he told her he was bored: “Let’s go for a drive instead”. So, she went for a frantic but unforgettable joyride in the Hollywood Hills, with him at the wheel of his convertible.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
How Avatar’s Oscar-winning costume designer blends physics and fashionDeborah L. Scott has worked the biggest films in the world, including E.T. and Titanic. But it’s the Avatar movies that have truly pushed her boundaries.
Read more »
How Avatar’s Oscar-winning costume designer blends physics and fashionDeborah L. Scott has worked the biggest films in the world, including E.T. and Titanic. But it’s the Avatar movies that have truly pushed her boundaries.
Read more »
How Avatar’s Oscar-winning costume designer blends physics and fashionDeborah L. Scott has worked the biggest films in the world, including E.T. and Titanic. But it’s the Avatar movies that have truly pushed her boundaries.
Read more »
Edinburgh goes bananas for cult show with a gorilla costume, a rocking chair and little elseBack for its 15th year, this festival favourite finds a bespectacled primate sitting silently on stage for 56 minutes – to wild applause
Read more »
A Very Hungry Caterpillar costume won’t turn your kid into a bookwormBook Week is upon us once again but if you want your child to embrace the joys of literature, don’t delude yourself with convenient fictions.
Read more »
A Very Hungry Caterpillar costume won’t turn your kid into a bookwormBook Week is upon us once again but if you want your child to embrace the joys of literature, don’t delude yourself with convenient fictions.
Read more »