September 11, 1903

Roger Furse (September 11, 1903 to August 19, 1972), a famous set and costume designer, was born in the area of Kent, England and died when he was in Corfu. We read

'The son of Lieutenant General Sir William Furse, Roger Furse was educated at Eton and the Slade School of Fine Arts.
'... His ...film credits include Henry V (1945), Odd Man Out (1947), Ivanhoe (1952) and The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone (1961). In 1946 he created the sets for the ballet Adam Zero at Covent Garden.
....'Furse's portrait of his wife, Margaret, who was also an Academy Award-winning costume designer, is included in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery in London.'

Sotheby's provides another picture of his life:

'.... [Furse] often stayed with the Oliviers at Notley Abbey, and there exists in the Vivien Leigh Archive at the Victoria & Albert Museum a lively correspondence between Furse and Vivien detailing the many visits, gifts exchanged, and warm friendship that they shared. Furse worked extensively with Olivier on a number of productions, including on the 1948 film Hamlet, which Olivier both produced and starred in the title role, for which Furse and Olivier both won two Oscars, Furse for the art direction and costumes in a black and white film, and Olivier best actor and best picture. 

'Later on, in 1951, Furse did the set design for Olivier’s productions of Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra and George Bernard Shaw’s Caesar and Cleopatra, a particularly complex production of the two plays which were performed on alternating nights, in which both Olivier and Leigh starred.'

Here is a portrait Roger Furse did of Vivien Leigh and her cat Tissy.



The woman is lovely, but the cat is a very individual beast.