My father, Tony Strong, who has died aged 102, was a talented artist working in the theatre, television and film industries.
He started his career in Covent Garden, London, working for the Royal Opera House with Oliver Messel, and the Theatre Royal, and remained there until the early 1960s when he took a job as a scenic artist in the brand new TV industry, first with Rediffusion Television.
In 1972 Tony started his own company, Tony Strong Scenic Art, and enjoyed a long working life creating artworks that many people will have seen in their favourite films and TV shows, and collaborating with directors including Stanley Kubrick, Ken Russell, David Lynch and Sidney Lumet.
Tony used a huge variety of techniques for his work on 33 films over five decades. Murder on the Orient Express (1974) required a 40ft x 1,314ft backdrop, but he also created very detailed items such as the tarot cards in the 1973 James Bond film Live and Let Die. His other film credits include The Elephant Man (1980) and The Shining (1984).
