Robert Fuest

Robert Fuest (30 September 1927 – 21 March 2012) was an English film director, screenwriter, and production designer who worked mostly in the horror, fantasy and suspense genres. Biography Born in London, Fuest served his national service in post-war Germany with the Royal Air Force, air-lifting coal over the Berlin Wall, after which he attended Wimbledon and Hornsey Schools of Art. For a period, he lectured at Southampton College of Art. Fuest also spent time as a drummer in a warm-up band for Chris Barber and George Melly. In the early sixties, he designed sets for television programmes such as ITV Play of the Week and Armchair Theatre. It was whilst working on the first season of The Avengers for director Peter Hammond that Fuest developed an enthusiasm for directing. Fuest later admitted (on a DVD commentary for the Avengers episode "Game") that Hammond's visual style proved a major influence, and opened him up to the stylistic possibilities of film and TV. In 1965, he contributed material to the Peter Cook and Dudley Moore comedy sketch show Not Only... But Also.