Acclaimed visual artist Les Dilley, renowned for his work on 'Star Wars' and 'Indiana Jones' franchises, passes away at 84 years old.
Joey "Les" Dilley, a celebrated Welsh production designer and art director, left us on May 20, 2025, at the age of 84, following a battle with Alzheimer's.
Born on July 11, 1941, in Rhondda, Wales, Dilley embarked on his illustrious film career with a construction and plastering apprenticeship at Associated British Picture Corporation at the tender age of 15. By the time he was 23, he was a plaster worker on the iconic From Russia With Love (1963), then an assistant art director on Jesus Christ Superstar and Kelly's Heroes. His art director credits expanded to include the 1973 blockbuster Three Musketeers and its 1974 sequel. In 1977, he joined the esteemed crew of the groundbreaking Star Wars: A New Hope, contributing to the physical build of R2-D2, the sandcrawler, and Luke's landspeeder.
His artistic vision flourished as he directed art for its sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, alongside other classic films like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Alien, and Superman, as well as An American Werewolf in London. Amongst these, A New Hope and Raiders of the Lost Ark earned him not one but two Academy Awards for Best Art Direction, shared with his fellow art director Norman Reynolds, who passed in 2023.
Following the end of his work on the British kids' show Teacup Travels in 2017, Dilley decided to hang up his hat and retire. Posthumously, he was honored by BAFTA's Welsh branch with an Outstanding Contribution to Film and Television Award in 2020. His peers, including George Lucas, Ridley Scott, and others, lauded his contributions to the film industry.
Les Dilley will be deeply missed by his surviving wife Leslie, five children, and countless fans. His family shared, "His love for the motion picture business was evident to the very end. In addition to his incredible work ethic and quirky British humor, he was a dedicated and loving husband, father, grandfather, and friend to many."
[via The Hollywood Reporter]
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Insights:
- Les Dilley worked on numerous iconic films, including major collaborations with directors like Steven Spielberg and Ridley Scott.
- Despite his influential career, there are no major television credits noted for Dilley in available sources.
- Some of his early work included architecture and building construction studies.
- He was known for his dedicated work ethic, quirky British humor, and love for life.
Joey "Les" Dilley, known for his exceptional work on movies like Star Wars: A New Hope and Raiders of the Lost Ark, will be missed by fans of movies-and-tv who stay updated with news about Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek. Despite a lack of television credits, his career in the world of entertainment was marked by major collaborations with directors like Steven Spielberg and Ridley Scott. His passion for the movie business, shown through his significant work ethic and quirky British humor, extended even to his early days of architecture and building construction studies.
