Eugene Lee, the revered scenic and production designer for stage, TV and film, passed away on Feb. 7, 2023 at the age of 83. Inventive, innovative, imaginative, and creative, are all words that describe the work of, and the man himself, as a designer.
Born in Beloit, WI, Lee was the resident designer at Trinity Repertory Theatre Company in Providence, RI since 1967 until his death. He made his Broadway debut was in 1981 as scenic designer for The Little Prince and the Aviator. He went on to do numerous Broadway shows, receiving four Tony nomination and winning three for his scenic designs of Candide, Sweeney Todd, and Wicked. His fourth nomination was for Ragtime. His last Broadway show was Bright Star in 2016. His work is still on Broadway, and on tour, as Wicked continues to run well into its 2nd decade.
Among Lee’s other theater accolades were three Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Set Design, the Lucille Lortel Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, Hewes Design Award, the Elliot Norton Award for Sustained Excellence, the Pell Award, and the DesignxRI Lifetime Achievement Award. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2006.
Lee was also the production designer of Saturday Night Live since it began in 1975, as well as designing The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and Late Night With Seth Meyers. He had six Emmy awards, having won consecutively for Outstanding Art Direction For Variety or Nonfiction Programming from 2017-2021. Lee had 18 Emmy nominations over his career. For films his scenic work included Hammett, Mr. North, Vanya on 42nd Street, and A Master Builder.
An adjunct professor at Brown University, Lee held BFA degrees from the Goodman School of Drama at the Art Institute of Chicago (now at DePaul University) and Carnegie Mellon University, and had an MFA from School of Drama at Yale University and three honorary Ph.Ds. He is survived by his wife, Brooke, his two sons.
Here are two insightful interviews with Lee looking at his career and his approach to his work.
