Franne Lee, Tony Award-Winning Costume and Set Designer, Has Passed Away

BroadwayWorld is saddened to report that Tony award-winning Broadway set and costume designer Franne Lee, best known for her work on Hal Prince's Sweeney Todd and Candide, has passed away. She was 81.

Franne Lee is a well-known award-winning production and costume designer for theatre, TV, and Film. In the past decade, she has also gained a reputation as an artist.

Franne Lee’s professional design career started in the theatre in New York, with Andre Gregory’s “Alice in Wonderland,” for which she received an Obie Award for costumes. Her many Broadway shows include Hal Prince’s productions of “Candide” (Tony Awards for Set and Costume Design) and “Sweeney Todd" (Tony Award for Costume Design).

Her movie credits include John Sayles’ “Baby, It’s You,” Paul Simon’s “One Trick Pony,” David Lynch’s “Industrial Symphony #1,”.  “The Local Stigmatic” and “Chinese Coffee,” both produced, directed, and starring Al Pacino.

Franne’s many TV credits include the first five years of Saturday Night Live, for which she won an Emmy award for Production/Costume Design. She’s created the looks for many of the best-loved SNL characters, such as the Killer Bees, the Coneheads, the Blues Brothers, the Nerds, Emily Litella, and Roseanne Roseannadanna. She moved to LA in 1995, where she worked on “The Stephanie Miller Show” for Disney-Buena Vista, “Sherman Oaks” for Showtime, and Roseanne’s talk show for King World.

Lee's longtime partner Eugene Lee passed away in February.