Eoin Sprott died on Saturday, December 3, at his home in Sag Harbor due to cancer. He was 77.
Born in Hampstead, England on June 1, 1934, Mr. Sprott was the eldest of John Chappell Sprott and Freda Bone’s three children. He grew up in Dundee, Scotland and, after serving in the Royal Navy, traveled to Calcutta, India where he worked for the East India Trading Company. He then decided to pursue his love of theater and began working as a designer in English Rep regional theaters.
He moved to Canada and became involved in the Manitoba Theatre in Winnipeg as a production manager and designer, and later as a designer and prop master at the Stratford Festival, often collaborating with his close friend, John Hirsch.
Upon moving to New York City, Mr. Sprott began designing for the Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center, the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, the Chelsea Theatre and the New York State Opera. He worked with designers Boris Aronson, Tony Walton, Robin Wagner and Ming Cho Lee, and, at his Great Jones Street Studio, produced props for “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Lenny,” “Pippin,” “Zorba” and “Oh! Calcutta!,” among many others. He also taught Theater Arts at NYU School of the Arts and was a member of the United Scenic Artists.
Tony Walton asked Mr. Sprott to make the fantasy props for Sidney Lumet’s film “The Wiz,” which was shot at the Kaufman Astoria Studios. The rebirth of New York film production ushered in by this film helped him to launch the Eoin Sprott Studio at Astoria Studios, where he and collaborators created props and special effects for both the play and the film “Deathtrap,” the play “Sweeney Todd” and films such as “A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy,” “Zelig,” “Wolfen” and “Gorky Park.” His studio also created special effects and models for countless television commercials.
Susan Stroman, the theatrical director of “The Producers” presented Mr. Sprott with one of his greatest challenges: to design and build the articulated puppets for the “Springtime for Hitler” sequence. From his studio at his Sag Harbor home, Mr. Sprott met this challenge with great success.
He is survived by his wife, Susan Sprott of Sag Harbor, his son Stephen Sprott of Brooklyn and two sons by his previous marriage; Andrew Sprott in Wales and James Sprott in Canada.
He is also survived by his brother, Gavin Sprott of Scotland, and sister, Catherine Scantlebury of England.
A celebration of Mr. Sprott’s life will be held on June 1, 2012 in his rose garden in Sag Harbor. In lieu of flowers, donations to East End Hospice, PO Box 1048, Westhampton Beach, NY 11978 would be appreciated by the family.
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