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Eleanor Henta Fazan OBE (29 May 1929 – 20 January 2024) was a British actress, dancer, and choreographer. She is best known for her roles in productions: Willow, Hot Fuzz and Lassiter. Fazan was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to dance.

Personal life

Eleanor Henta Fazan was born on 29 May 1929 in Kenya. She later trained in dancing with Sadler's Wells Ballet (currently known as 'The Royal Ballet'). Later she joined the Arts Educational School.

Fazan was married to the British composer Stanley Myers in 1955, and they had one son. She died on 20 January 2024, at the age of 94.

Career

In 1959, Fazan directed One to Another, a revue at the Lyric Opera House in Hammersmith written by Bamber Gascoigne, John Cranko, John Mortimer, N. F. Simpson, and Harold Pinter, amongst others. It starred Beryl Reid, Patrick Wymark, Joe Melia Sheila Hancock and Ray Barrett. In 1960 she was choreographer for The Lily White Boys, directed by Lindsay Anderson at the Royal Court. In 1961 she was the director of Beyond the Fringe, when it began its initial London run at the Fortune Theatre. In 1974, she made her Royal Opera debut on Der Ring des Nibelungen, directed by Götz Friedrich. She did phenomenal work at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, where she contributed to numerous productions in the following years under the prominent directors Elijah Moshinski, John Copley, Friedrich and John Schlesinger in their productions of operas such as: Peter Grimes, Lohengrin, The Rake’s Progress, Macbeth, Samson, Otello, Attila, Ariadne auf Naxos, Semele, Idomeneo, re di Creta, Elektra, Les Contes d’Hoffmann and Der Rosenkavalier.

Meanwhile, she entered cinema as a choreographer as well as actress where she appeared in Oh! What a Lovely War, Heaven’s Gate, Willow, Cold Comfort Farm, Mrs Henderson Presents and Hot Fuzz. In 1993, she was awarded the Industry Award from British Film Institute.

Partial filmography

Source: British Film Institute

References

1. ^ "Eleanor Fazan; Born: 29 May 1930". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 13 October 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
2. Fazan, Eleanor (22 May 2018). "Voluntourism in Malawi: Can horse power can make a better world?". telegraph. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
3. ^ "Eleanor Fazan: CHOREOGRAPHER". Royal Opera House. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
4. The United Kingdom:"No. 60367". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 28 December 2012. p. 10.
5. Blacker, Terence (22 February 2024). "Eleanor Fazan obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
6. "Obituary: Stanley Myers". Independent.co.uk. 23 October 2011.
7. "Eleanor Fazan, trailblazing director revered within British theatre and opera – obituary". The Telegraph. 7 February 2024. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
8. Milton Shulman ‘The Moth Collector Can Go…’ London Evening Standard 16 July 1959 p. 10
9. Philip Hope-Wallace ‘From one extreme to another’ London Guardian 16 July 1959 p. 5
10. Milton Shulman ‘Three smart boys make this a musical to remember’ 28 June 1960 London Evening Standard 28 June 1960 p. 12
11. Milton Shulman ‘Four Young Men Make This Revue a Rare Delight’, London Evening Standard 11 May 1961 p. 19

External links

• Eleanor Fazan at IMDb
• Eleanor Fazan discography at Discogs
• FIZ and some Theatre Giants by Eleanor Fazan

• 1929 births
• 2024 deaths
• British choreographers
• British women choreographers
• Film choreographers
• Kenyan emigrants to the United Kingdom
• Actors educated at the Arts Educational Schools
• 20th-century British actresses
• Officers of the Order of the British Empire