Anthony Powell

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BIRTHDAY

June 02, 1935

Chortlon-Cum-Hardy, England, United Kingdom

RECENT CREDITS

Miss Potter (FILM) Dec. 29, 2006

102 Dalmatians (FILM) Nov. 22, 2000

The Ninth Gate (FILM) Mar. 10, 2000

The Avengers (FILM) Aug. 14, 1998

101 Dalmatians (FILM) Nov. 29, 1996

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BIOGRAPHY

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Three-time Oscar-winning costume designer Anthony Powell began his professional career as a teenager touring with his handmade marionettes. After graduating from London's Central School of Art and Design, he apprenticed as an assistant to other designers including Cecil Beaton. Simultaneously, Powell served as a lecturer at his alma mater. His costume designs for John Gielgud's production of "The School for Scandal" (1963) earned him a Tony Award and he also received a second nomination for his scenic design. Powell made his first Hollywood connection with director Irving Lerner who chose him to design the costumes for "The Royal Hunt of the Sun" (1969), which required styling both the Spanish conquistadors as well as the native Americans. His first Oscar came for his outlandish designs for Maggie Smith's Augusta in George Cukor's "Travels with My Aunt" (1972). The Academy honored him with back-to-back Oscars for his glamorous 30s designs for "Death on the Nile" (1978), particularly the women's outfits worn in the film by such luminaries as Mia Farrow, Angela Lansbury, Bette Davis and Maggie Smith, and his 19th Century attire for "Tess" (1979). The latter began a three-film collaboration with director Roman Polanski that included the lavish "Pirates" (1986) and the contemporary "Frantic" (1988). Additionally, Powell created the costumes and sets for the French stage production of "Amadeus", in which Polanski starred as well as directed.

Powell also forged a collaboration with director Steven Spielberg, creating the period-appropriate costumes for both "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" (1984) and "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" (1989). In 1991, he designed the fantastic clothing for "Hook", some of which recalled his earlier work on "Pirates". Returning to the stage, he re-interpreted Edith Head's designs for the 1950 film, fashioning the lavish and luxuriant clothes of Norma Desmond in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "Sunset Boulevard" (1993 in London; 1994 in the USA). Glenn Close headed the American production and Powell got to create the over-the-top costumes for her Cruella DeVil in the live action remake of "101 Dalmatians" (1996). More recently, he reinterpreted 60s mod fashions for the film version of "The Avengers" (1998).

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