Richard Lake (Designer - The Dummy)

Richard Lake was a staff designer at ATV working on drama and light entertainment shows from the 1950s. His first traceable credit was for the family comedy Wolfe at the Door which ran for three episodes from 18th June 1956. The programme was a vehicle for the English comedy performer Digby Wolfe shortly before he moved to Australia, and later, the USA.

Lake then moved on to supply set designs for various programmes ranging from light entertainment such as Val Parnell’s Spectacular, children’s programmes including Noddy in Toyland (1957) and thriller series The Web (21st December 1957 – 1st February 1958). Laker continued to work in all areas of programming at ATV as a new decade dawned with his design work on drama series such as Probation Officer and Ghost Squad, comedy productions including The Benny Hill Show and Hancock and variety shows such as Val Parnell’s Sunday Night at the London Palladium. Laker was also given assignments on documentary and educational series such as Discovering Japanese Art and About Religion.

Career highlights during the mid-60s including set design on a couple of ITV Play of the Week productions – 'Finesse in Diamonds' (5th April 1965) and 'The Cabbage Tree Hat Boys' (13th December 1965) and the first season of the hit sitcom George and Dragon starring Sid James and Peggy Mount (19th November – 24th December 1966).

By the end of the decade Lake seems to have concentrated on light entertainment programmes with work on series including The Liberace Show, The Frankie Howerd Show and The Engelbert Humperdinck Show. However, as the 1970s began Laker worked on a run of drama productions including five episodes of the anthology drama Love Story, Thriller episode 'A Place to Die' and two episodes of Crime of Passion. For director Robert Tronson he worked on an episode of Hunters Walk, 'Kids' (22nd July 1974), and an episode of Father Brown – 'The Hammer of God' (26th September 1974).

Prior to his set designs for Beasts Lake worked on the comedy series Carry on Laughing. For Beasts Laker would work on the episodes 'The Dummy' and 'Baby'. Post Beasts Laker was assigned to work on the ATV play 'Cottage to Let' (13th June – 30th Auguts 1977) for director Richard Bramall and the first episode The Foundation (8th July – 26th August 1977). He also contributed to the sitcom A Sharp Intake of Breath and an episode of the anthology series Scorpion Tales – 'Easterman' (29th April 1978). Between 1978 and 1980 Lake is credited as the art director on six episodes of The Muppet Show.

The 1980s would bring work on the single drama Donkey’s Years (1st Janaury 1980), drama series Flickers (17th September – 22nd October 1980) and an adaptation of the children’s classic Vice Versa (29th September – 10th November 1981). Lake’s final ATV credits included the comedy productions Pictures (11th February – 25th March 1983) and Goodnight and God Bless (12th April – 17th May 1983).

TV Credits
1956 Wolfe at the Door
1957 Saturday Spectacular, Noddy on Toyland
1958 Web
1959 – 1961 Probation Officer
1960 The Benny Hill Show, Theatre 70 – 'The Gold Inside'
1961 Flying High, Winning Windows, Val Parnell’s Sunday Night at the London Palladium
1962 Drama ’62: 'Luck of the Draw'
1963 Hancock – 'The Night Out' / 'The Early Call', Ghost Squad, Discovering Japanese Art
1965 About Religion, ITV Play of the Week – 'Finesse in Diamonds' / 'The Cabbage Tree Hat Boys'
1966 Mrs Thursday – 'The Snows of Yesteryear', George and the Dragon
1967 Spotlight
1968 Showtime
1969 The Power Game – 'The Outsider', The Liberace Show, The Frankie Howerd Show, Love Story – 'Ensign to the Cannon Proud'
1970 The Engelbert Humperdinck Show, Honour and Offer, ITV Playhouse – 'A Family and a Fortune'
1972 Saturday Variety, Love Story – 'You Don’t Know Me, But ….' / 'Once Upon A Time' / 'Alice'
1973 Love Story – 'Two Tame Oats', Crime of Passion – 'Claudine' / 'Gerard', Thriller - 'A Place to Die'
1974 Hunter’s Walk – 'Kids', Father Brown – 'The Hammer of God'
1975 Carry On Laughing, Thriller – 'A Look Back in Happiness' / 'Dial a Deadly Number'
1976 Thriller – 'The Next Victim', Beasts – 'The Dummy' / 'Baby'
1977 Cottage to Let
1977 – 1978 The Foundation
1978 A Sharp Intake of Breath. Scorpion Tales – 'Easterman'
1978 – 1980 The Muppet Show
1980 Donkey’s Years, Flickers
1981 ITV Playhouse – 'Sin with Our Permission', Bud ‘n’ Ches, Vice Versa
1983 Pictures, Goodnight and God Bless