Graham Bennett

Graham Stewart Bennett (16 December 1933 – 5 November 2004) was an Australian production and costume designer, teacher and artist who worked unofficially with Oscar winner John Truscott and later, as a teacher, inspired Oscar winner Adam Elliot.

Biography He attended Scotch College from 1945 to 1949, then studied art and design at RMIT, then taught in secondary schools in Melbourne and Hamilton. While working by day at Broadmeadows Technical College, he worked at night with his flatmate Truscott on the Melbourne production of Camelot, then the British premiere and then the 1967 movie Camelot.

Bennett relied on "a semi-abstract feel" for the set and costume design. "The movie was not to have anything that was referenced to any historical period," he says. "I saw the movie a few weeks ago, and even today, it's very modern, a lot of the design work." For the movie, Bennett designed furnishings such as curtains, and tapestries, the patterns on women's costumes and men's jackets, and King Arthur and Guinevere's crowns.

The Oscar statuettes were bequeathed to him by Truscott.

He inherited Truscott's Oscars and donated them to The Arts Centre in Melbourne. There are more visible signs of his achievements, such as the curtains he designed that hang in the State Theatre and Melbourne Town Hall. His most enduring legacy is the inspiration and guidance he offered to the boys in his classroom.

He also provided advice on the 2004 Melbourne revival of Camelot. The director Darren Sticklen said: "We were looking at the first scene together, which is a snow scene, and he said, 'While it's lovely to go for those cooler colours, make sure that you have some touches of warmer colour in there, to ensure that it's beautiful'."