We at Cinema Retro mourn the passing of our good friend Peter Lamont, the legendary Production Designer of many James Bond films as well as "Titanic", for which he received the Academy Award. CR columnist and author Gareth Owen reflects on Peter's life and career.
By Gareth Owen
British Oscar winning (and four-time nominee) Production Designer
Peter Lamont passed away on December 18th aged 91 after suffering
complications from pneumonia.
Having seen his name on the silver screen
throughout my formative years on films such as The Seven Percent Solution,
Sleuth, Fiddler On The Roof, and of course pretty much every James Bond
film, I first met Peter in 1990 at Pinewood Studios and was immediately struck
by his friendliness, charm and modesty. I bumped into him on the lot many times
in following years, and no matter how busy or pressured he was Peter always
made time to have a little chat, and to enthuse about his latest film and some
of the challenges he’d overcome.
Living nearby, in the mid 1940s, Peter
started his career at Pinewood Studios as a runner and after breaking for two
years for National Service in the Royal Air Force, he returned to Pinewood as a
junior draughtsman on films such as Captain Boycott (1950), The
Browning Version (1951), Hotel Sahara (1951), The Importance of
Being Earnest (1952) and The Seekers (1954). His talent, easy-going
demeanour and ability to keep a cool head in a crisis endeared him to many of
the days leading Production Designers of the day including Alex Vetchinsky and
Maurice Carter.
He then came on to the radar of Ken Adam who,
in 1964, asked Peter to join the art department of Goldfinger to help
recreate Fort Knox on the Pinewood backlot.
"I drew it all up and made a
model," he recalled, "and I remember [director] Guy Hamilton and
[producers] Cubby [Broccoli] and Harry [Saltzman] came up and they looked at it
and said, 'Well, let's get an estimate of how much it's going to cost.' And I
almost fell through the roof because the estimate was for £56,000 … I thought,
'Oh God, I'm going to get fired for this.' But nobody turned a hair."
Peter stayed with the Bond family until his
retirement in 2006 and graduated to Set Dresser, Assistant Art Director, Art
Director and – in 1981 – Production Designer, which was a position he kept
through Casino Royale (2006). Though he did actually miss one Bond
assignment (Tomorrow Never Dies in 197) due to being “on a sinking shipâ€
– namely, James Cameron’s Titanic (1997); a film which finally brought
him a much deserved Oscar win. His other nominations were for Fiddler on the
Roof (1971), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Aliens (1986).
Peter was a great ambassador for the Bond
films and whilst his retirement probably came one film too early, he always
spoke with great pride about his association with the series and regularly
attended our Bondstars gatherings at Pinewood where he eagerly chatted with
fans and entertained everyone with stories of his adventures. I developed a closer
friendship with Peter often joining him and some of his art department
colleagues on a Thursday lunchtime at the White Horse pub near the studios for
a lunch, or his favourite Italian restaurant just around the corner from his
home in Farnham Common. They were always jolly affairs and conversation around
the table included anything from what was on TV the day before, the latest
advances in technology and science, to memories of far flung locations many
decades earlier – Peter’s recall and memory for detail was always astounding.
Having sadly lost his wife Ann six years ago,
Peter was surrounded by his family, son Neil and daughter Madeline with their
children and was very proud to have two great-grandchildren. He was also a
great friend to, and of, many.
Upon hearing of Peter’s death, Eon
Productions issued a press release:
"Peter Lamont was a much beloved member
of the Bond family and a giant in the industry, inextricably linked with the
design and aesthetic of James Bond since Goldfinger. He became Production
Designer on For Your Eyes Only (1981) working on 18 of the 25 films
including nine as Production Designer. He was a true success story proving that
with talent and hard work you will achieve your dreams.
Our hearts go out to his family and all those
who worked with him over many years. He will be very sorely missed."
Among Peter’s other notable films outside of
007 were: This Sporting Life (1963), The Ipcress File (1965), Chitty
Chitty Bang Bang (1968), The Boys From Brazil (1978), and True
Lies (1994).
Though never mentioned publicly, Peter did
sometimes feel his contribution to the film industry was overshadowed by his
frequent collaborator Ken Adam - but rest assured, his legacy is a rich and
unique one in itself and will continue through his children and grandchildren
who have followed in his footsteps.