Eleanor Fazan

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Eleanor Fazan
OBE
Born
Eleanor Henta Fazan

(1929-05-29)29 May 1929
Died20 January 2024(2024-01-20) (aged 94)
Nationality Kenyan
Other namesFiz
Occupation(s)Actress, director, choreographer, dancer
Years active1949–2012
Spouse Stanley Myers
Children1

Eleanor Henta Fazan OBE (29 May 1929 – 20 January 2024) was a British actress, dancer, and choreographer. [1] [2] She is best known for her roles in productions: Willow, Hot Fuzz and Lassiter. Fazan was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to dance. [3] [4]

Contents

Personal life

Eleanor Henta Fazan was born on 29 May 1929 in Kenya. She later trained in dancing with Sadler's Wells Ballet (currently known as 'The Royal Ballet'). Later she joined the Arts Educational School. [3]

Fazan was married to the British composer Stanley Myers in 1955, and they had one son. She died on 20 January 2024, at the age of 94. [5] [6] [7]

Career

In 1959, Fazan directed One to Another, a revue at the Lyric Opera House in Hammersmith written by Bamber Gascoigne, John Cranko, John Mortimer, N. F. Simpson, and Harold Pinter, amongst others. It starred Beryl Reid, Patrick Wymark, Joe Melia [8] Sheila Hancock and Ray Barrett. [9] In 1960 she was choreographer for The Lily White Boys, directed by Lindsay Anderson at the Royal Court. [10] In 1961 she was the director of Beyond the Fringe , when it began its initial London run at the Fortune Theatre. [11] In 1974, she made her Royal Opera debut on Der Ring des Nibelungen, directed by Götz Friedrich. She did phenomenal work at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, where she contributed to numerous productions in the following years under the prominent directors Elijah Moshinski, John Copley, Friedrich and John Schlesinger in their productions of operas such as: Peter Grimes, Lohengrin, The Rake’s Progress, Macbeth, Samson, Otello, Attila, Ariadne auf Naxos, Semele, Idomeneo, re di Creta, Elektra, Les Contes d’Hoffmann and Der Rosenkavalier. [3]

Meanwhile, she entered cinema as a choreographer as well as actress where she appeared in Oh! What a Lovely War, Heaven’s Gate, Willow, Cold Comfort Farm , Mrs Henderson Presents and Hot Fuzz . In 1993, she was awarded the Industry Award from British Film Institute. [3]

Partial filmography

Source: British Film Institute [1]

YearFilmRoleGenre
1950 Cinderella Cast memberFilm
1955 Value For Money Leopard 'doll' in revue number (uncredited)Film
1955Two of a KindBettyFilm
1957Pink ScarfMrs WareFilm
1957A Santa for ChristmasDance directionFilm
1959 Follow a Star ChoreographyFilm
1960The Ladies' ManChoreographyFilm
1965The Day of RagnarokCast memberFilm
1965ScruggsCast memberFilm
1965 The Intelligence Men Cast memberFilm
1968 Inadmissible Evidence Anna MaitlandFilm
1969 Oh! What a Lovely War ChoreographyFilm
1972 Lady Caroline Film Dance movementFilm
1973 O Lucky Man! Cast memberFilm
1973 Savage Messiah Madame GaudierFilm
1973 The Ruling Class ChoreographerFilm
1974 Barry McKenzie Holds His Own Musical stagingFilm
1974 Great Expectations ChoreographerTV film
1977 Wombling Free ChoreographerFilm
1977 Joseph Andrews DancesFilm
1978 The One and Only Phyllis Dixey Musical numbersTV film
1979 Yanks ChoreographerFilm
1980 Nearly a Happy Ending ChoreographyTV play
1980 Heaven's Gate ChoreographyFilm
1981 A Midsummer Night's Dream ChoreographyTelevision
1982 The Scarlet Pimpernel ChoreographerTV film
1984 Lassiter ChoreographerFilm
1984 A Christmas Carol ChoreographerTV film
1985 King David ChoreographyFilm
1986 Babes in Toyland ChoreographyTV film
1987Top of the BillChoreographyFilm
1988 Willow ChoreographyFilm
1990 Mountains of the Moon ChoreographyFilm
1991 Performance : "Absolute Hell"ChoreographyTelevision
1992 L'Amant ChoreographyFilm
1994 The Innocent ChoreographerFilm
1995 Cold Comfort Farm ChoreographyFilm
1999 Onegin ChoreographerFilm
2005 Mrs Henderson Presents ChoreographyFilm
2007 Hot Fuzz ChoreographerFilm

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References

  1. 1 2 "Eleanor Fazan; Born: 29 May 1930". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 13 October 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  2. Fazan, Eleanor (22 May 2018). "Voluntourism in Malawi: Can horse power can make a better world?". telegraph. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Eleanor Fazan: CHOREOGRAPHER". Royal Opera House. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  4. The United Kingdom: "No. 60367". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 28 December 2012. p. 10.
  5. Blacker, Terence (22 February 2024). "Eleanor Fazan obituary". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  6. "Obituary: Stanley Myers". Independent.co.uk . 23 October 2011.
  7. "Eleanor Fazan, trailblazing director revered within British theatre and opera – obituary". The Telegraph. 7 February 2024. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  8. Milton Shulman ‘The Moth Collector Can Go…’ London Evening Standard 16 July 1959 p. 10
  9. Philip Hope-Wallace ‘From one extreme to another’ London Guardian 16 July 1959 p. 5
  10. Milton Shulman ‘Three smart boys make this a musical to remember’ 28 June 1960 London Evening Standard 28 June 1960 p. 12
  11. Milton Shulman ‘Four Young Men Make This Revue a Rare Delight’, London Evening Standard 11 May 1961 p. 19