Malcolm Stone

I was born in London in 1948, the son of George Stone, a Royal Engineer who voluntarily returned from service in the Far East to help rebuild Britain after the war. My childhood was spent in houses my father helped to construct, first in Kent and later in Surrey, where I was educated at Wallington County Grammar School for Boys.

After leaving school, I spent six formative years at art college, completing both graduate and postgraduate degrees in Interior Design at Leicester. Alongside my academic training, I developed a lasting commitment to rugby, a pursuit that remained an important part of my life for forty-six years.

My career began at Leicester Museums as an exhibition designer, followed by work with an architectural practice in London. I then moved into television, joining Southern Television in Southampton as an assistant designer. Within two years, I transferred to Lew Grade’s ATV Network at Elstree, where I rapidly progressed to Senior Designer. There I worked across drama and light entertainment, contributing to productions made for both British and American audiences. It was during this period that I joined the design team for The Muppet Show and met Jim Henson, an association that would prove to be a defining influence on my career.

In 1979, I left ATV to establish Mightart Ltd. and embark on a freelance career, beginning with Jim Henson’s feature film The Dark Crystal. This marked the start of forty-seven years working as an Art Director, Set Decorator, and Production Designer on more than 100 film and television productions.
My work has also extended into writing, including the screenplay for the feature film Mrs Caldicot’s Cabbage War, starring Pauline Collins and John Alderton. Among more unusual projects was the construction of a full-size replica of the then-new Docklands Light Railway train for GEC.

I have been honoured with multiple Emmy nominations for Outstanding Art Direction, including The Muppet Show with Beverly Sills (1979) and Brooke Shields (1980), War and Remembrance starring Robert Mitchum (1988), and Band of Brothers (2001), produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. I have also received nominations from the Art Directors Guild of America for excellence in design for The Company (2007), produced by Ridley Scott, and Tut (2015), produced and directed by David Von Ancken.

My awards include the ACE Award (American Award for Cable Television Excellence) for Mother Goose Tales, produced by Jim Henson, and a British Television Advertising Award Diploma for Paxo’s Rooster Booster. Beyond my creative work, I have been privileged to serve as Chairman and Treasurer of the British Film Designers Guild. I am an Honoured Friend of the British Society of Cinematographers and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.