MICHAEL D. FORD

(1928 - 31 May 2018)

The British-born art director and set decorator, who has died aged 90, trained at Goldsmiths College as an illustrator, then worked as a scenic artist before entering films via television. His first film credit was for Man in the Moon (1960) with Kenneth More, then The Anniversary (1968) with Bette Davis, Kelly’s Heroes with Clint Eastwood, The Alf Garnett Saga with Warren Mitchell, Up the Front with Frankie Howerd, Take Me High with Cliff Richard and Girl Stroke Boy with Peter Straker. Ford also worked on television during the 1970s, his credits including The New Avengers and Space 1999. Then came the big ones: two Star Wars pictures, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, plus his Oscar-winning contributions to Raiders of the Lost Ark. He worked through the 1980s and ’90s on many films, including The Chain, Return to Oz, Young Sherlock Holmes, The Living Daylights, Empire of the Sun, Consuming Passions, Licence to Kill, The Muppet Christmas Carol and GoldenEye. He scored another Academy Award for Titanic in 1997. His last film work was on Wing Commander in 1999.

MICHAEL DARVELL