Carl Toms

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Carl Toms
Born29 May 1927

Carl Toms OBE (29 May 1927 – 4 August 1999) was a British set and costume designer who was known for his work in theatre, opera, ballet, and film.

Education

Carl Toms was born in 1927 at

Mansfield College of Art in Mansfield where he met and befriended Alan Tagg, who would also become a notable stage designer. They were both greatly influenced by a young teacher from Yorkshire, Hazel Hemsworth
.

Toms left Mansfield in the early 1940s to serve in the

Old Vic School in the late 1940s. It was Harris, however, who influenced the next major course of his life by introducing Toms to Oliver Messel with whom he would eventually apprentice with from 1952 to 1957.[2]

Toms' first job under Messel was to make models for a penthouse suite at the

Glyndebourne 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 in Covent Garden which display this influence.[1]

Career

After leaving Messel in 1958, Toms worked on the opera

In 1969, Toms was appointed consultant for the Investiture of the Prince of Wales,[3] for which he received the Order 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 1990 he took on the task of restoring the Richmond Theatre in Richmond, London, which had been designed by Frank Matcham.

In 1970, Toms began to work in the American theatre and won a

Peter Hall production of An Ideal Husband (1996).[1]

Toms also worked on nine films during his career, including the

One Million Years BC, starring Raquel 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.[4]

Death

Toms died of emphysema on 4 August 1999 in Hertfordshire, England, aged 72.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c Smurthwaite, Nick (7 August 1999). "Obituary: Carl Toms". The Independent. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  2. ^ a b c French, Liz (1 October 1999). "In Memoriam: Carl Toms". Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
  3. ^ Wood, Peter (6 August 1999). "Carl Toms". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  4. ^ Playbill News: Carl Toms, British Scenic Designer, is Dead at 72