Eugene Lee passed away on Tuesday in Providence, Rhode Island.
He was the six-time Emmy-winning production designer for Saturday Night Live since 1975 and a multiple Tony winner for Broadway productions like Wicked, Sweeney Todd, and Candide. He was 83.
What is Eugene Lee famous for?
Lee has been the SNL production designer since the year of the show’s launch, making him the longest-tenured member of the NBC show’s production team. Additionally, from 2014 to 2018, he worked as a production designer for various SNL specials as well as The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
Along with other shows, he oversaw the production design for On Golden Pond, a 2000 television movie, and Late Night with Seth Meyers. Lee had 18 Emmy nominations for his work in television production design; he won six, including back-to-back awards for Outstanding Art Direction for Variety or Nonfiction Programming from 2017–2021.
Along with winning Tony Awards, Lee’s theatrical performances have received recognition from the New York Drama Desk, the Lucille Lortel Award, and the Pell Award. Both the American Theater Hall of Fame and the New York Theater Hall of Fame have inducted him.
